Dime in a Dozen
by mihawklover
Summary: When Armistice's heart is broken, she flees to start a new life aboard a pirate ship, and falls in love with the young enigmatic swordsman, Mihawk. But can she convince Mihawk of her love, even after her ex boyfriend Keith stages their engagement?
1. A broken heart needs time to heal

A/N: Yay new Mihawk story. I really like this one, though it is not planned like my others. I need some time for my other stories as they are so planned that they are now strangling and no longer creative. I really like the concept of this story however and I hope that you will all like it as well. I especially like the summary that I have come up with. I think that it is the best that I have ever written. But that is up to you to decide. I know that only the main character has been introduced and Mihawk is still somewhere in the distance, but he will come into the story very soon. Also keep in mind that this story is set when Mihawk is only young, before he becomes the best swordsman. I will also be writing 6000 words for this story every week, so I don't know how many chapters will come out at one time. Anyway on to the story. I hope that you enjoy it, and remember to review!

I do not own one piece!!

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The clear glass door creaked slightly as it was pushed roughly open. The hinges were near dead and protested every time they were forced into action. Armistice ignored the sound and continued to practically bounce up the spiral staircase that she knew led to the floor that occupied her boyfriend's office. There was absolutely nothing in the world that could possibly sway her from her positive mood, she knew that today was the day that Keith would propose to her; she had been dreaming about it for months and finally it had arrived.

The floor of Keith's office was large with many doors leading to other rooms. At the present moment it was full of workers who were lounging about and joking with their co-workers. But as Armistice entered the room, they all turned silent and stared at her; concern and regret filling their eyes.

Smiling warily, Armistice searched the room to find her lover. She had a lunch that she knew he would love, planned and ready to eat. She just hoped that she could spot him before it turned cold. Keith however was no where to be seen. Shrugging she walked over to a small group of women gathered around the front desk. She had met them previously when she had visited Keith at other times. As she approached them, their voices became soft until they were non existent, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

'Good Morning Armistice.' A young woman with short blue hair exclaimed. She clenched her fists in a nervous manner, and her smile did not quite meet her eyes.

'Good morning to you too.' Armistice replied happily moving closer to the women, though still keeping an eye out for her yet to appear boyfriend. 'Have any of you seen Keith? I have come to take him out to lunch, and if we don't leave soon, the food will go cold.'

The group of women exchanged glances, apparently debating which one was to tell her where Keith was. It was obvious by their expressions that they had been put on the spot by her arrival and she was making them uncomfortable.

'Is he in his office?' Armistice asked moving to walk towards the closed door. 'Because I am sure that he won't mind if I enter. What could be more important? I will not disturb him.'

'He's not in his office!' The woman behind the desk exclaimed grabbing Armistice by the arm. Now the whole room was watching her, their eyes burning into her skin as if to say that they knew something horrible and she did not.

'Oh, you know where he has gone then? I can go and surprise him there!' Armistice smiled pleased that she would have something to do other than be the centre of attention in Keith's workplace. As much as she believed that they were all good people; she did not feel comfortable when they stared at her so intently.

'I think that he went down to the local florist to buy you some flowers miss.' A man to Armistice's right told her nervously. 'Though it was supposed to be a secret, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you went down and caught him in the act.'

Armistice giggled. 'That is such a wonderful idea. He would never see it coming, and then the two of us could have a beautiful lunch together.'

The room let out a silent breath as she turned and started back towards the stairs. She had just stepped down one step when a loud crashing sound boomed through the room from Keith's office; startling everyone within the vicinity.

Armistice turned and stared at the office shocked. There was definitely someone within the room. Without another thought, she strode over to the office and placed her hand on the door knob, ready to see what had caused the noise. But before she opened the door, she heard the unmistakeable voice of Keith, which left her breathless and weak at the knees. Not willing to wait any longer, she jammed the door open to walk into the passionate actions of Keith and his promiscuous secretary Lucy.

The two of them were butt naked, not an once of clothing on their bodies. They were positioned on the desk in plain sight of Armistice's horrified eyes. Scattered on the floor were pens, pencils and a lamp; the cause of the loud bang only moments before.

Armistice stared at the scene before her not knowing how to react. She could not pinpoint her emotions, they were haywire, and reeking havoc throughout her body. She watched as Keith and Lucy hastily donned their messily discarded clothes, and the other workers drew back from her.

Silently tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked. Keith looked at her for a moment, before turning his gaze to the carpet. His voice was soft, barely concealing regret as he tried to help her through the moment.

'Armistice I was going to tell you.' Keith walked forward and placed his warm hand on her soft shoulder. 'You have to believe that I never wanted you to find out this way.'

His touched felt as though it burnt her flesh, and Armistice flinched away from him. She felt stupid and weak for wanting to cry, but all of her hopes and expectations had been vanquished with that one scene. She could not understand why he did not love her as she loved him. 'Do you not love me any more? Why didn't you break things off with me first?'

'I still love you Army, but I just don't love you in the same way. Things are different now.' Keith smiled looking relieved, and took hold of Lucy's hand. 'I think that Lucy is the one. I never ever wanted to upset you. It just happened, we had no control over it.'

Revolted by his answer, Armistice backed away slowly, anger starting to take control. 'How long have you two been doing each other?!'

Lucy stepped forwards uncertainly, her arm outstretched, trying to instil comfort. 'It's only been for a few weeks. We were going to tell you tonight at dinner. We wanted to be certain before we made any concrete decisions.'

'You wanted to be sure?' Armistice let the sentence float in the air for a while. She could not determine weather Lucy was trying to be nice and calm her, or weather she was mocking her. 'Did you not care that I sat at home through these little play dates of yours, thinking about what I could do to make you happy? Did you not care that I loved you, and thought that maybe tonight would be the night that you finally proposed to me, and made my life complete. I wanted to give you my whole life Keith. And this is how you repay me?'

'Listen Army, it's not like that. I'm sorry that I have disappointed you. But the spark just isn't there any more.' Keith said quietly taking hold of her hand. 'You must have felt that. You have to let this relationship go. It is finished, even if it was a bad way to end.'

Armistice waited a while as her brain digested his words. He made it sound as though it was her fault that she was standing there heart broken. But no, it was his fault. With a jerk of her wrist she pulled her hand free of his grip. She swung her hand upwards, and then brought it swinging down to connect with the smooth skin of his face. Her hand stung from the impact, but she felt slightly better.

Keith just stared at her dumbly as Lucy came rushing to his aid. Some of the workers that Armistice had been talking to before she had caught her lover red handed, hid there smiles behind their hands, while others beamed at her and gave her the thumbs up.

Armistice watched as Keith got back to his feet, and walked towards her. Pain wracked her body as she thought about how much she loved him. How much it hurt that he could go to another woman to be satisfied. She backed away from his insistent arm, and then turned and fled. She ran as fast as she could, not stopping until she reached their apartment where she locked the front door and laid on the floor so that she could cry until the tears no longer came freely.

After a while it started to rain, the weather reflecting her mood completely. She had no reason to move, yet as she sat there she thought up small plots that would make Keith and Lucy miserable for the rest of their lives. She knew that if she stayed in town, she would have to live everyday ignoring them, and hoping that they would not notice her. It would be one of the hardest things she would ever have to do. But maybe one day she would stop hurting, and find someone else to fill the gap.

As the rain continued to beat on the overly large windows of her house, Armistice's mind was drawn to the small letter that she had received in the mail only days ago. It was a letter from her best friend Cali, asking her to come and stay. If Armistice was to go to see her friend, she was sure that Cali would give her a temporary place to stay. She would then be able to forget Keith and Lucy, and maybe move on with her life once and for all. Who knows, maybe she would meet a new friend, one that would ultimately become more than just someone she hung out with.

Smiling grimly, Armistice ran up the marble staircase in the middle of the lounge room, and into her bedroom. She threw a few of her favourite garments into a light travel bag. She would be able to start a new life with Cali and forget about Keith once and for all. She didn't need him.

The only thing that she did need, was to find a way off this rotten island once and for all.


	2. Deals with a Devil

A/N: Well chapter 2 is up a lot quicker than I thought it would be. Mihawk finally shows up in this one. If you like the story, please don't forget to review! Oh and thank you very much to littlepinkangel, my first reviewer for this story!

I do not own one piece

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A wind brushed her legs gently, and blew her colourful skirt in a hundred directions as Armistice walked down the main road of Evengail. It was only a small town, but it served its purpose; to give sanctuary to weary travellers who had been battling the raging seas. Unfortunately that also meant that the town was often a base for pirates. At that moment there was currently a large pirate crew taking up most of the docks. Armistice could see their large boats as she walked towards them.

They stood tall and proud in the summer sun. Armistice just hoped that she did not run into any of them as she tried to barter for a ride off the island. She had heard that the Captain was a big influence on the seas, one of his men were rumoured to be striving to beat Cairn, the infamous swordsman. The man that could be beaten by no other. Armistice could not understand their mentality, but she also did not want to. All as she wanted to do was to escape Evengail and never return.

Shaking her head, Armistice stepped onto the rough wooden boards of the dock. They were slightly wet, and in the darker crevices, mould had started to grow. She did not pay it any attention however as she continued down to the large building placed strategically on the docks. Out the front were many boats of varying sizes. Armistice looked over each one before she walked into the store to wait behind a small line. She watched the doe-faced man sitting behind the counter with slight interest.

He was serving customers with the least speed possible, his black hair hung limp to his shoulders and his skin looked pasty. When the line finally moved and Armistice was standing in front of him, he took his time before finally lifting his head from the magazine and paying her any attention. 'What do you want?'

The man's cutting tone startled Armistice, she did not know what she had done to deserve such a harsh treatment, but she tried not to take it personally. 'I am looking for a boat. I want to leave Evengail so that I can go and visit a friend.'

'You're Keith's woman aren't you?' The man behind the counter asked. He suddenly looked a lot more interested, and for the first time since she had approached him, he flicked the magazine closed so that he could talk to her and not miss a single word that she said. 'What are you doing looking for a boat? You should just have him take you out.'

'Keith and I are no longer together.' Armistice said icily. 'I just need to take a boat out so that I can go and visit my friend.'

'You mean that you are trying to run away from him right?' The man smirked, and leaned lazily against the desk. 'Why don't you come on a date with me? If you do, I will give you your little boat for free, and I will even take you to see this friend of yours. It is a double gain, you will never get such a good offer again.'

Armistice tried not to shudder in disgust. 'Sorry, I don't think that I am ready for a relationship with anyone yet. Keith and I only just split and I am still not over him. Thank you very much for your kind offer, but I will only be needing the boat today.'

The man glared at her for a moment before he opened his magazine once again. He sniffed 'I'm sorry but I have no boats left to sell to you miss. I would advise that you come back some other time when I have what you want in stock.'

'B-but!'

'I'm sorry miss. Why don't you go home and calm down before you do something that you are going to regret.' The man smiled and then looked back at his magazine, making his dismissal known.

Thoroughly disappointed, Armistice walked to the far most corner of the shop to figure out a way to trick him into giving her a boat. He was obviously offended with the fact that she would not go out on a date with him. Maybe she could convince him to give her a boat, without giving him her body. She'd had enough of love already.

'Do you have a small boat?' A rough voice asked breaking through her thought processes. 'Captain Whitebeard sent me to see if you do. Our escape ship has broken and we need a new one. We will of course pay you what ever you want.'

The pirate had long blonde hair and huge muscles. He looked as though he could easily tear the shop keeper apart if he did not get his way. The shopkeeper also seemed to realise this fact as he jumped up from his desk, and took the pirate to see some of his best boats. On his way passed, he pushed Armistice into the wall.

Feeling indignant, Armistice followed them back out onto the dock where the shopkeeper was showing the pirate one of his best looking ships. Sucking in a deep breath, she marched up to the two men. 'You have a ship to give a pirate, but you cannot let me buy one? Why not, because I rejected your offer for a date?!'

'N-No that is not the reason. Mr Whitebeard has first preference over all of my ships!'

'That's right lass. Why don't you come back when more come into stock?' The pirate said laughing to himself quietly; he had obviously heard her conversation with the shopkeeper.

Forgetting who she was dealing with, Armistice leaned over and pushed the pirate into the sea. It was only after he landed with a splash between the boat and the dock that she thought about what she had done. If he had have fallen at a wrong angle, he would have hit the boat and maybe hurt himself servilely. She could have killed him, and all because he had angered her with his superior chuckle.

'You are in so much trouble!' The shopkeeper said. She had not thought that it was possible for his pasty face to lose any more colour, but it was now pure white. He was shaking 'Why the hell did you do that? What were you thinking? That man is a representative of Whitebeard. When they find out what you just did they will kill you!'

'I will ask them if I can have that pleasure!' The pirate hissed through gritted teeth from behind Armistice. He had climbed onto the dock out of the water while she and the shopkeeper were in conversation. 'You're coming with me Lassy!'

Armistice gasped, and jumped back, but the pirate was too quick for her and gripped her wrist before she could escape. 'No let me go. I'm sorry!'

'I don't care how sorry you are.' The pirate turned back to the shopkeeper. 'Keep that boat for me, I will be back soon to pick it up, and to pay for it. Do not sell it!'

'Yes sir!' The shopkeeper saluted him, and then moved back into the building, not sparing Armistice a single glance as she was dragged to the large mother ship of Whitebeard.

* * *

With every step that Armistice was forced to take, her fear grew larger. The pirate beside her had a lethal grip on her arm, and there was nothing that she could do to free herself. She was trapped without a doubt, and in hindsight it was her own fault. She had provoked the pirate with no reason. He had been happily going about his business leaving her well alone. If she had not been so angry at the traitorous shop keeper then she probably would not have ever thrown him off the dock, but she had foolishly let her emotions take hold of her.

'Please, I am sorry that I threw you in the water.' Armistice pleaded with him. 'I did not mean to do it. It just happened, I just snapped. I've gone through a lot of stress today, please just forgive me.'

'Relax you will have to see the Gramps before anything happens to you.' The pirate lifted Armistice onto the deck of the large ship that occupied half of the dock. She knew that it was the mother ship of Whitebeard. 'Once he is through with you, then I will punish you for your foolish actions.'

'You're a fool.' A slow and heavily accented voice said. A young dark haired man appeared from seemingly out of nowhere to face his comrade. 'What could this little lass have possibly done to deserve to go up against the Captain? She is hardly bigger than a toothpick. What did she do, push you into the ocean?'

Armistice felt her heart stop. The new man in front of her was one of the most handsome she had ever seen. She had always thought that Keith was good looking, but the new pirate stole that from him easily with his dark good looks, tanned muscled body and his bright yellow eyes which seemed to pierce her very soul.

'You bastard Hawkeyes! You were following me!' The pirate yelled pushing Armistice roughly to the ground in front of Hawkeye's feet. 'This woman embarrassed me. I don't care that I am only new to this crew, I know that Whitebeard will respect me and punish her justly.'

'And so he will.' Hawkeyes smiled slightly before looking down at Armistice. 'What is your name girl?'

'Armistice.' She replied simply, but as she looked up at him she was reminded of the first time she had met her one true love Keith. She had tripped over a small stone and twisted her ankle. Keith bent down to examine it, his hands soft on her flesh. Her skinned crawled with a beautiful sensation, and she longed instantly for him to hold her in his arms and take away the pain. Why had she been so stupid and believed that he would love her as much as she loved him?

'Take her to Whitebeard if you must Rookie, but he will not be pleased.' Hawkeyes said in a tone that suggested he was bored. He then bent down and took hold of Armistice's hand in his own large and strong one.

As soon as their hands touched Armistice felt an electrical spark pulse through their joined flesh. She almost jumped back, but saved herself just in time, allowing Hawkeyes to pull her into a standing position. She bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. 'Thank you very much.'

The swordsman nodded and walked away. Armistice noticed that he had a definite walk, one that told anyone around him that he meant business and didn't care what he had to do to get what he wanted. He had certainly sent her off the rails, and he had only touched her once. She would have to stay away from him until the pirates left the harbour. He was dangerous, and would mean trouble for her.

'Come on girl, now it's time to see the Captain.' The pirate said grabbing her by the arm once more. 'Wouldn't want to keep you any longer than I had to, especially after you started making bug eyes with Hawkeyes. He's a bad influence by the way, and there is no way that you could get into his pants, he's very picky with his women. You don't meet the agenda.'

Armistice glared at the pirate in indignation. He was the one who was pulling her around the ship and telling her what to do, yet he still thought that he was powerful enough to tell her what to do? She would make sure that he quickly changed his mind about her.

Armistice was just about to dig her heals into the deck to stop her progress when a booming laugh echoed around the ship and she lost her nerve. If she ran away now then it would look bad on her behalf. They were much more likely to be angry if she did not do as they said. So she let the young pirate pull her in front of an enormous man that she guessed was Whitebeard.

'What is it today son?' Whitebeard asked, his laughter dying on his face. 'Have you found us a new member?'

'This woman is a monstrosity!'

Armistice quailed as she stared up at the overwhelming presence of Whitebeard. He was so tall that she doubted he was human, he had to have giants blood in him somewhere. His face looked happy, though stern at the same time. She did not doubt that he would be a fun loving Captain who was not afraid to show his might in any situation.

'Is this true girl? You attacked this man for no reason?' Whitebeard asked shifting his focus to her.

'N-No Sir, not at all!' Armistice squeaked. 'I just lost hold of my emotions, I never meant to cause any harm. I swear!'

'You're a lying little bi-'

'Shut up Rookie!' The pirate that had escorted Armistice to Whitebeard was quickly silenced by Hawkeyes, who slowly made his way in front of the assembled crew, and his Captain. 'I saw what happened down at the dock. The girl couldn't hurt a fly, and because of his lack of alertness she threw him into the sea.'

'I really didn't mean to! I've had a hard day, and he was being a smart ass!' Armistice screamed standing to her feet to defend herself. She was not comfortable with Hawkeyes speaking for her, she did not quite trust such a dangerous man. 'Any other day I really would not have done something so barbaric!'

Whitebeard looked at her for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. 'I wasn't worried girl. If the boy can't defend against you, then how could he possibly be a big time pirate on the sea?'

'I learnt karate!' Armistice said pouting, which sent Whitebeard into yet another bout of laughter. 'I just didn't do all that well.'

'Why don't you stick around for a while Lass. Have a drink. I know that my men would love new company; and so would the women.' Whitebeard smiled down at her.

If she'd had the chance, Armistice would have declined the Captain's offer, but before she knew it she had been swept into a crowd of partying pirates. It was only a little while later that she was able to escape the festivities and sit down to catch her breath. The location that she had chosen was conveniently situated near Whitebeard who was deep in conversation with a man that could only be the navigator, since they were discussing where they should go next. Armistice pretended that she was not listening as she sat back.

'I say that we go to this Island here Captain.' The navigator said. 'It is not that far away, but it will be a good place to stock up on weapons. This town has only food, and they cannot even give us enough of that to sustain us for a long period of time. I think that we should leave tomorrow.'

'Very well, it sounds like a smart plan. Then we can travel to the Grandline and make use of this crew. I wonder how well off they will be.' Whitebeard watched his crew for a moment. 'What did you say the name of this island is?'

'The Island that we are to go to is Aortic Island.' The navigator said.

Armistice gasped. Whitebeard and his crew were going to the same island that she needed to get to.

'Eavesdropping?' Hawkeyes asked as he sat down beside Armistice.

'No, I'm just tired from the day that I have had, it's been huge.' Armistice answered evenly, her heart racing a million miles but her voice giving none of her suppressed emotions away. 'I just want to go home, but at the moment I can't.'

'Because you need a boat? We're going where you need to.' Hawkeyes grinned at the blank look on Armistice's face as he opened a folded letter and handed it to her. 'I checked out your house just a moment ago.'

Armistice looked at the letter and then laughed hysterically. He had found the letter that Cali had sent her. He knew that she was listening in on Whitebeard's conversation. What was worse was he knew that she had heard that Whitebeard was headed straight to Cali's home island, the place that she wanted to go. 'I didn't give you permission to go into my house.'

'No, but I did.' Hawkeyes grinned and got to his feet. 'You're stupid to think that we wouldn't try to dig out any dirt on you.'

Armistice watched him go, and then sighed looking back at the letter. She hoped that he had not found out about her failed relationship that was preventing her from going home. The only way for her to escape from her pain, was to ask Whitebeard to take her with him to Aortic Island. Armistice looked over at the man and summoned her courage.

You can do this, she thought to herself as she stood once again, it is not that hard.

* * *

'Mr Whitebeard Sir?' Armistice asked nervously as she approached Whitebeard. 'May I have a word with you?'

Whitebeard smiled and inclined his head in indication for her to start talking to him.

Armistice took a deep breath. 'I was wondering if you could take me with you. I overheard you talking to your navigator, he said that you were headed for Aortic Island. I have to go there to visit a friend. But I will of course pay you for your services.'

Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed at her. 'You don't need to pay me for the trip girl. If you just work a bit around the ship that will be fine. Of course you won't be able to have your own room. I will put you in with Mihawk. The two of you should get along alright.'

'Thank you Mr Whitebeard.' Armistice said bowing to him. She could not believe her luck. 'I can't wait to meet him.'

A sudden crash brought the meeting between Whitebeard and Armistice to a sudden halt, as Marines started to crawl onto the ship from every which direction. Soon all of the pirates were in battle, and Armistice had no choice but to defend herself. She had never been one for fighting, but she had taken karate lessons as a small girl. As one of the Marines came rushing at her, she spun on the spot and threw her foot into his chin, knocking him out completely.

She was then pursued by two others, but she swiftly took care of them both with a broom that she found lying on the deck. After two solid hits the two men were knocked unconscious, and she was left to brush her crimson hair from her creamy cheek.

Although she was not fat, she was not a thin woman, and it worked in her advantage. She could use a bit more force while she was fighting the Marines. She did not have to use more of her skills however, as the pirates had them running for their lives. They were not about to risk death.

Armistice stood and watched them flee, and just as the last man was leaving he turned, camera in his hand. There was a bright flash, and Armistice felt her heart fly to her stomach as the man jumped from the deck and ran into town. He had captured a clear picture of her, and there was nothing that she could do about it. Now the whole world would know her face, and worse, they would think that she was part of Whitebeard's pirate crew.


	3. Mihawk

A/N: Chapter three already? Wow, this is the fastest I have ever written a story, but I must admit that 1) I'm on holidays and 2) I am very much enjoying this story. My writing style has changed so much since I first started writing, and its really fun to see what it was like back then, compared to now. Anyway I hope you like this chapter, I think that this story is going to be quite long, but then again, I could be wrong!!

I do not own One Piece

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Armistice stood frozen from horror. She had been in full view of the camera, there was no way that she was going to get out of her fate now. She would be known as a pirate to the whole world, there was no way that she was going to escape.

'You rock Chicky!' One of Whitebeard's rookie pirates said. He held his hand high in the air for her to hit. It was a sign of his congratulations. He threw his head up and down in what looked like a fit, his bright blue hair waving madly from the action. 'The way you threw him to the ground. You're like one of the toughest chicks that I have ever met. Dude!'

Armistice tried not to stare at the bazaar man, as she slowly backed away from him. She turned quickly only to come face to face with Hawkeyes. She watched him for a while nervously, but he did not move a muscle, he stayed completely still as if he was made of stone. He did not even blink. When Armistice tried to walk around him, he moved over to stay in front of her, his unnerving eyes never leaving her own.

'What do you want Hawkeyes?'

Hawkeyes glared at her, and then seemed to shrug something off, before he stalked away to bark orders to the crew. They were finally leaving the dock of Evengail Island.

'What is his problem?' Armistice said to no one in particular.

'He has a hard time communicating with the people around him. I wouldn't take it too personally if I was you. Mihawk is cold with everyone around him, it would be hard for anyone to get close enough to know more than that he wants to defeat Cairn and become the world's greatest swordsman.'

'You mean he is Mihawk! The man that I will be sharing a room with until we get to the next island?!'

'I picked him for a reason. With him there is little chance that your privacy will be invaded. He will distance himself from you, but he will also keep the other members of the crew away.' Whitebeard's face suddenly turned grave. 'But what are you going to do when we get to the next island. You knocked out three Marines, do you really think that they will just leave you alone after that incident?'

'I know, but they attacked me, it was self defence.' Armistice clutched at her hair in frustration. 'I can't let that picture be seen! I can't be a pirate, I don't know the first thing about surviving on the sea!'

'If you don't know the first thing about surviving on the sea, then why were you going to travel to Tortic Island by yourself? In the least you would need a navigator to guide you through. It's a five day journey.' Whitebeard said.

'I can navigate the seas.' Armistice admitted. 'I took a couple of courses when I was younger. I used to do a lot of different things because my mother and father were too busy to take care of me. They wanted me to grow up to become a marine, but I never did. After I could make my own choices, I pursued more navigation courses. It is something that I am actually good at.'

'So what did you want to do if you didn't want to be a Marine.'

Armistice smiled as she was drawn to the memory of the meeting between her and her parents. They had been sitting by the fireplace chatting when she stormed in, papers clutched tightly in her hand. She threw the papers at her parents and waited for them to react. They only stared at her stupidly with large eyes, making her even angrier than what she already was.

'Do you know what these are?' Armistice raged.

'They are the enrolment forms that we sent to the Marines for you.' Armistice's mother said calmly, sipping her tea slowly.

'Well you can shove them up your ass! I'm not going to be a Marine. You cannot keep me and Keith away from each other! We are in love and we are going to start a family together, and you're going to like it!'

Armistice had been young then, and stupid, she had been only sixteen when she had fallen for Keith. She had thought her life was perfectly mapped out in front of her. How pleased her mother would be if she knew how right she had been about Keith.

Armistice smiled up at Whitebeard. 'To tell the truth I have never really thought about it all that much.'

'Well I suggest you think about how you are going to get out of your predicament when we get to Tortic Island. Because once you leave my ship, I can no longer protect you.'

Just as Whitebeard turned to leave, Armistice was struck with a brilliant idea. 'Can't we just pretend that I have been taken hostage?'

'That unfortunately will never work. You were seen fighting the Marines. They know that you are no hostage.' Whitebeard scratched his chin before seemingly coming to a conclusion. 'Why don't you just join my crew? We are headed for the Grandline, and we could use another Navigator to back us up.'

'I don't think that I would be very fit for that position.'

'Why don't you have a think about it and then get back to me with your answer, once we have reached Tortic.' Whitebeard smiled and left Armistice alone to think about what he had just said.

But there was no way that she was going to join his crew. The people aboard the ship were too dangerous, and besides she had a feeling that she would be relieved when they finally reached Tortic. Mihawk was not going to be the easiest person to share a room with.

* * *

Water sloped over the rim of a bucket messily as a mop was thrown hastily into it.

Armistice cursed under her breath. The water had now destroyed her clean floor, and she would have to go over it once again. Sighing she took the mop from the bucket once again and placed it on the floor to clean up the spilt water.

Tyran, the Rookie pirate that had first taken Armistice to Whitebeard, watched her carefully for a while before he took aim, and threw a rotten potato at her head. He hit his target with perfect accuracy.

Armistice cried out in shock, reaching her hand up quickly to her hair where said potato had landed. When she pulled her hand back she saw that it was covered in the sticky mess of the rotten potato. A pungent smell rose from it. She would have to wash for the second time that day. The last object that they had decided to hurl at her was rotten eggs. Sighing she ignored the vegetable that now covered her hair, and continued her mopping.

Having gained no reaction, Tyran took a different approach. He walked casually over to where Armistice was working. He lifted the water filled bucket easily and moved it over her head, then he turned it upside down, allowing the cold liquid to join with the sticky mess already in her once glossy shoulder length red hair.

Anger coursed through her veins and she snapped around to face him. Her eyes met his, and for a moment she glared at him, allowing him to see the hate that had begun to boil just below the surface. Then she brought the mop up and slammed it as hard as she could into his stomach.

Tyran fell to the ground screaming in pain for the impact of the mop. He was not stunned for long, as he soon took his revenge by gripping her leg and pulling her to the ground alongside him. Seizing the bucket's handle in a firm grip he slammed it into her again and again until she stopped yelling out.

Armistice had not realised just how much influence Tyran held in the ranks of the crew, and was surprised when none of the people standing around her offered to help her out. Taking matters into her own hands she crawled to her feet and then lunged once again at Tyran. She did not care if she angered the crew, she was acting on self defence.

He dodged her attack easily, and when she passed him he slammed his fist into her back, knocking her to the ground.

Crying out in pain Armistice clutched at her back before rolling away from another of Tyran's brutal attacks. There was no time for her to cry out to alert Whitebeard, his attacks were too fast for her to do anything but concentrate on avoiding his smashing blows. Taking the mop once again, she brought it up to block one of his attacks, and then smash it into the left side of his head, knocking him momentarily into a dazed state of confusion.

It took him a while to register what she had done, but when he did he started to circle around her. His usually handsome face was screwed in an ugly snarl of displeasure. He pulled a small knife from his pocket and then lunged at her again, this time knocking the mop from her grip and then aiming the knife in the direction of her heart. Intent for the taste of her blood.

Terrified that she was about to breathe her last breath, Armistice threw herself onto the deck, avoiding the blow to her hammering heart. She turned onto her back to see the anger seething from his very being and fear made her helpless as a blinded animal. She scrambled to her feet, looking around for some way to either protect herself or escape from her current situation. Tyran was on a totally different level to the Marines she had beaten up, she did not stand a chance against his strength as she had with them.

Fast as lightning, Tyran tackled her to the ground once again. He let out a laugh of delirious joy and straddled her effectively pinning her to the ground. He brought the knife into the air and stabbed the deck just beside her neck.

'Scared you didn't I?' He laughed menacingly. 'Thought that I was going to kill you? Unfortunately my knife would probably break within the thickness of your fat.'

Shivering in fear, Armistice tried to push him off her, but his weight was too much for her to overcome. She swallowed, and looked into his face, depicting a crazed look in the very depths of his dark eyes. He thought that he had her.

'Get off me!' Armistice growled through gritted teeth. 'I get the picture, you won, I lost. The fight is over now.'

'Far from it.' Tyran laughed quietly and then leaned down so that his mouth was against her ear. 'You may be fat, but I am no stupid man. I have mastered you, and now you must abide by my every wish. I will strip your dignity from you until you have nothing left to cling to.'

Eyes widening in shock Armistice caught onto his meaning. Anger taking a strangling hold of her nerves she spat in his face. 'You do not own me, I will not give in just because you pinned me to the ground. You are a monster, and I am surprised that you have lasted so long on this ship. You do not treat Nakama this way. It's unethical!'

'Unethical? That's funny, I seem to remember you being the one to attack me. I hate hypocrites!' Tyran whispered to her, sitting up once again, and pulling the knife out of the ships deck. 'That's why I will be able to do this. If you die, I will just say that it was self defence, and there is nothing that you can do about it. Let's just say that you won't be in a state fit for talking.'

Armistice squirmed desperately beneath his weight, trying to free herself from him. Panic killed her very senses, and she started to see the world in a slow motion like state. 'Don't do it Tyran, you will regret it. Mihawk and Whitebeard will know that you are stronger than me!'

'Why would I care about what Mihawk does, and does not know?' Tyran asked, momentarily distracted. 'He is a fool who thinks that he owns this ship. The men only show him loyalty because he is a monster that could kill us all with one swoop of his sword. Who cares what he thinks?'

'Mihawk is not a monster! He would not act like this, he would know when to stop!' Armistice argued, now placing her hopes in the distraction of speech. 'And Whitebeard would care what Mihawk has to say. The two of them are very close, Whitebeard will trust anything that Mihawk has to say. He is not a liar like you!'

Tyran's hand connected with Armistice's cheek resulting in a sound that echoed around the whole ship. 'You stupid little whore, you know nothing of which you speak. It will serve you well if you sit there and stay quiet, your mouth gets you into trouble.'

Gasping from the shock of the slap, Armistice breathed in as much oxygen as she could. 'I think I know a lot more than you give me credit for, but still you try to suppress me. You won the fight, now let me go so that I can get back to cleaning the deck before it is covered in my blood.'

Tyran ignored her and brought the knife streaming down in a perfect arch, piercing Armistice's flesh. He brought it out of her body to effectively stab her in the same place five more times.

Armistice screamed in pain, she could not move from the force of the attack. She lay limp, waiting for it to end, for the pain to subside and the calm and peace of sleep or death to overtake her. Neither of them came, and she was forced to watch the scene before her unfold.

The knife was raised by Tyran once again to hit home, but his hand was suddenly stopped by the firm grip of a large and extremely powerful hand. He dropped the knife and stared into the golden eyes of Mihawk.

The weight was released from Armistice's body as Mihawk threw him across the deck. She had been right, he was not a social person, but he still had enough human in him to save another when they were being bullied. He wasn't as bad as what people seemed to believe.

Mihawk bent down and lifted Armistice gingerly into his arms. He carried her to the infirmary, glaring at any of the rookies that got in his way. 'You were stupid to think that you could take him on your own. You should have spoken to Whitebeard, told him that you were being bullied.'

Smiling Armistice shifted closer to the solid warmth of Mihawk's chest. He made her feel safe, and cared for. 'What could have Whitebeard possibly done to stop it? If I had have gone to him, then it would have made the whole thing worse than what it already is.

'I know that I should not have hit him with that mop.' Armistice sighed, the pain searing in her stomach. 'It was a stupid thing to do, but lately I have been acting on instinct and emotion and it seems that I just cannot help myself.'

Mihawk was silent for a while. He hesitated for a fraction of a second when he reached out to open the infirmary door. 'Next time he bothers you, come to me and I will set him straight. I will hit him so hard that he won't remember what his name is for a week.'

'Why do you care so much?' Armistice asked timidly. 'You don't seem to care about many people.'

'A man should never raise his hand against a woman who is obviously not at his level. Only if she can competently hold her own in a fight, can he ever think about taking her on in battle.' Mihawk said quietly, and in a tone that did not lie. 'Also Nakama should stand by each other, even if they do not get along.'

Breathless, Armistice let Mihawk take her into the infirmary and admit her into the doctor's care. She had known he was a serious person, but she had not known that he was quite that deep.

* * *

The rubber glove snapped as the disapproving doctor shoved it onto his hand. He walked over to where Armistice was sitting, and let his attention focus completely on Mihawk. 'I assume that you know what happened out there? I want a recount on the events so that I can make my proper diagnosis, and it better be good, because today was supposed to be my day off.'

Armistice squirmed uncomfortably. The doctor was not helping her get over the fact that she had become cocky, and therefore been beaten by one of the rookie pirates. In fact, his disdain made her feel worse than what she had before she had been admitted by Mihawk.

'I'm sorry to bother you, I'm sure there's nothing drastically wrong.' Armistice forced a slight smile to her lips. 'Really it's probably nothing that I cannot patch up myself. You should get back to doing whatever it was you were doing.'

The doctor glared at her icily. 'If it is not that bad, why did you come. You are obviously wasting my time! I cannot stress to you how important it is that you only come to me if you have a serious problem. What if I had someone on the crew dying, but I was too busy helping you with your minor injury? That wouldn't be very good now, would it?'

Blinking back barely concealed tears Armistice stood to her feet, and took a step towards the door. She turned back to the doctor for a minute, before continuing towards the door. 'You should not treat your patients with such hostility. It makes them feel stupid, soon people will not want to come to you for help. For a doctor, that is not advisable.'

Mimicking her movements, Mihawk caught up with her, and grabbed hold of her wrist. He then proceeded to drag her back to the table on which she had been sitting. 'You will be looked at. We are not leaving until you have been!'

Quailing in the danger of his temper, Armistice agreed with Mihawk, and sat through hours of unbearable and embarrassing tests. Because she had been stabbed in the stomach, she needed to strip down to only her bra, something that left her red in the face under both the Doctor's and Mihawk's gaze.

Mihawk did not stay around for all the tests, but the doctor insisted that she stay the night.

Armistice did not know if this was because he thought that she was important to Mihawk, or weather her earlier reprimand had opened some deeply locked up emotion; but she did not care either. After all the tests were completed, and she was exhausted and could do nothing but lie on the bed and wallow in her self pity. She had been no match for the rookie. She had been stupid to try.

Slowly the night turned into day, and the Doctor came back to the clinic bright and early. But even as the day wore on, and Armistice was still not aloud to leave, Mihawk did not show his face in the clinic again.

Feeling angry that she could have let herself think that he cared, Armistice left the infirmary in a relatively grey mood. She marched to her room, not stopping to talk to anyone along the way, and ignoring the whispering that took place behind her back. Opening the door to the room she shared with Mihawk, Armistice let herself in, and slammed it shut before freezing like water on a frosty winters day.

Standing in the middle of the room shirtless, and just about to drop his pants, was none other than Mihawk. His chest was perfectly sculptured, skin stretched tight over corded muscle. He radiated the very meaning of handsome.

Armistice felt her knees go weak and her mouth drop open at the sight of him. Sure she had seen Keith naked, but he had not had the same effect. She could not move from the sight of Mihawk, she felt as she had when she was still a virgin ready to give her body up to a man for the first time.

Mihawk smirked at her obvious appraisal. 'You like what you see?'

Snapping out of her trance, Armistice studied him for a while before she turned and locked the door.


	4. Matchmaker

A/N: Wow, this is a really long chapter! It got to something like 5500 words, which is lucky for me because it means that my story is now over 14000 words long! Yay! I love the drama in this chapter, though I am testing a few things out with my writing so don't hesitate to tell me if something doesn't feel right! I have a few ideas for the next chapter, but I have this feeling that the chapters from now on are going to be a lot bigger, because I am getting so excited, and so many ideas. Oh yeah, I know people are reading this, and adding this to their favourites and alerts! So please, review, don't just finish the chapter, and trust me I know how easy it can be to just finish and exit out of the story, content to wait for the next chapter. So instead REVIEW!! That is the only way that I will know if you like it or not, and if you think any parts of the story need fixing!!

I do not own One Piece

* * *

Silence hung in the room like a pungent odour, being fourth tension within the occupants.

Armistice felt her face heat up when she turned back to look at Mihawk, so to hide her discomfort she snapped at Mihawk with more vigour than she had intended. 'Oh for God's sake Mihawk, button up your pants. I'm not here to seduce you. I'm going to set things between us right!'

Mihawk took his time to re-do his buttons, all the while watching his companion with a calculated expression, as if he was trying to figure out her motives before she turned them into actions. His golden eyes narrowed, and the muscles in his shoulders flexed under slight tension. The only subtle hint that he was even slightly effected by her outrage, was the slight pulling at the corners of his mouth, and the small amused glint that had lightened his unnerving eyes.

'If that is what you feel that you must do, then say it. But I do not have time to sit around all day and watch you pace up and down the room.' Mihawk told her quietly. 'Either get to the point within five minutes, or I am leaving; even if you aren't finished speaking.'

Armistice stopped her pacing and stared at Mihawk. 'This is exactly what I am talking about. One minute you are defending me, and lifting me up off the ground, then next you are telling me to piss off! I don't understand you, and quiet frankly, I don't want to. But we are stuck on this ship, in this very room, together. We should at least make the most of it.'

Inclining his head in acceptance, Mihawk turned to pick up the black shirt that was on his bed. He pulled it over his head, and then made for his sword, his whole being focused only on his weapon as he held it above his head to examine it. After finding nothing wrong, he strapped the small sword to his waist. Walking towards Armistice, he paused waiting for her to move out of his way so that he could leave the room.

Even though it was a small sword, with not much of an appearance, Armistice still recognised that it was highly treasured by Mihawk. Without thinking, she reached out and grasped hold of his wrist, moving in closer to him. She could smell his very male scent, and it made her dizzy just to inhale it.

'I have an idea, why don't we duel.' Armistice grip on Mihawk's wrist tightened in nervous anticipation. 'A friendly one on one. Isn't that how you boys work things out? Then we can set some ground lines and work together instead of against each other.'

Mihawk's golden eyes narrowed and his jaw stiffened. He flexed his wrist to emphasis the difference in power between him and Tyran. Then he effortlessly pulled his arm free of her grip and crossed to the door, ignoring her challenge.

Anger raged through her at his dismissal, and she found herself racing after him all the way to the deck. 'Why not? I just want to resolve things! I want to make things between us good, you know so then maybe you might say good morning to me when we wake up!'

The pirates on the deck all burst into laughter at Armistice. Some of them even slapped Mihawk on the back. Tyran was one of the said pirates, his voice dripped with poison coated with honey as he addressed the young swordsman.

'Congratulations Mihawk!' Tyran jeered loudly. 'No wonder you were so eager to hoist her from my grasp yesterday, you wanted her all to yourself. Unfortunately, now it looks as though you have the problem of her being too attached. Life sucks.'

Armistice stared at Tyran, shock leaving her speechless for a moment. Throwing her head high in the air she ignored him. She marched over to where Mihawk was and reduced her voice to a bare whisper, one that held a razor sharp edge.

'Could we please talk about this in private? I need to know you to be able to get along with you. I would prefer it if the crew didn't think that we were passionate lovers trying to come up with our next position. Wouldn't you?' Armistice gripped his wrist to further emphasis her meaning, near gasping at the strength that he retained. 'I just think that it would be better if we got along. At least, I want to get along with you. You don't have to tell me your life story, because I am most definitely not going to tell you mine. Isn't there anyway that we can become friends?'

Mihawk turned and walked away from her. He flexed his muscles before starting a routine pattern with his sword. His movements were liquid. They held so much grace, it was hard to tell that he was actually walking on legs and not flying around the deck in mid-air. His movements were so fast that it was hard to keep track of his whereabouts, and he hit every target that was set up with little effort. His dark hair was the only feature visible as he sped through the routine. After he was finished, his bright eyes flicked in the direction of Armistice, and he sighed noticeably before walking over.

'I don't want to be your friend.' Mihawk said squarely barely concealing his annoyance. 'I don't want to be the friend of anyone who is on this ship. They are all idiots. Once I am strong enough, I will leave and I will become the best. I will not return, and then you won't need me to be your friend. Chances are that once I do become strong you won't want to know me. You'll be too scared because you are weak.'

Armistice stood speechless staring into Mihawk's beautiful eyes. Nervously she ran her fingers through her red hair. Her long fingernails bit into her scalp when she pushed too hard as she was combing through the strands. But she welcomed the pain. 'How could you judge me as such a shallow person?'

Mihawk sighed. 'I know what kind of girl you are. You think that everyone needs saving. You never think that people may just not want to talk to you. You want to change them into something that they are not, just so they will do as you want them to. I know that is what you would do, because you are shallow.'

'You don't even know me! You can't make assumptions like that!' Armistice bellowed. 'Why do you expect the worse from everyone? You haven't even given me a chance, and yet here you are telling me that I don't deserve your friendship because I am shallow!'

'You don't have to prove to me that you are, I can tell.' Mihawk sneered.

'You are basing your judgements around someone else aren't you?' Armistice asked quietly. 'You have been hurt, I understand that. But you can't block everyone out based on past experiences. You have to let your fear go and do something about it.'

'You're one to give advice.' Mihawk's eyes raged with anger. 'You won't join the crew because you need to get as far as you can away from your island. Your also scared that you will be hurt. I would take your advice if you had have gone by it yourself, but you don't'

'I have not asked you to do anything that is too strenuous Mihawk. I have only asked to be your friend, and you are making a scene.' Armistice said. 'I am not the person that you are comparing me with, so stop doing it.'

Mihawk stood still for a moment before he turned and stalked to the other side of the boat. His stride did not indicate that he wished to be pursued. Tyran picked up on this and sneered at Armistice, laughing at her reckless mistake.

'You really have no idea do you?' Tyran taunted. 'You think that he was basing you on someone else. You don't even see that he was actually telling the truth? You're an opportunist, and your fat. No one on this ship likes you. Whitebeard is your only friend. And if he keeps hearing of the fights you have been causing. His patience will wear thin, and you will be in big trouble.'

Armistice glared at her rival and trudged back to her room. Her feet dragged against the deck with every passing step. When she arrived at her destination, she flung herself down on her small hammock bed to weep.

The bedroom door flung open, its hinges nearly breaking.

Armistice hid her tear streaked eyes, and attempted to make her voice sound natural. 'What is it Rori?'

The ships navigator, watched her for a while. His light grey eyes sparkled with kind concern, and his body language told of worry. Remembering that he was on a time schedule, he cleared his throat.

'I've come to tell you that we have reached Tortic Island at last.' Rori hesitated for a moment. 'Is everything okay?'

Armistice laughed weakly, still keeping her face hidden from Rori's searching gaze. 'I'm fine, just feeling a little nauseous. I guess it's from sea sickness.'

'Probably, the sea can be a harsh mistress at times.' Rori smiled kindly, before leaving the room.

Armistice laid still for a moment before rolling from her bed. She opened her suitcase and messily packed her small amount of clothes in it. Taking a breath she squared her shoulders and strode from the room, chin held high.

* * *

The bar door creaked noisily as it was swung open. The occupants of the building took little notice of the strangers that entered, and continued to eat their food, drink their grog and talk animatedly to their partners. Until Whitebeard strolled in, once they saw his massive outline, they took to their feet, tails between their legs. The bar suddenly became louder and more colourful as the pirates filed in one by one and took up every ounce of available seating. A pretty bar maid with short curly pink hair walked over to Whitebeard as he pondered his selection.

Armistice recognised Cali instantly, even though she had lost weight and grown taller. Armistice could remember when Cali's father would bring her to Evengail for the fair. _They would come once a year, but Armistice still became exited and rushed to the dock to greet them. She jumped at Cali hugging her around the shoulders before grabbing her hand and running through the fair ground with her_. She only ever stayed for that one day every year, but it had always been Armistice's favourite day. Slowly Armistice moved from the door towards the bar where her friend was serving. 'May I get an ice tea.'

Cali's eyes flicked up from the notebook that she was taking orders in, and her large brown eyes lit up with joy. She clapped her hands twice before limping as fast as she could around the bar counter. When she stood face to face with Armistice, she examined her friend laughing loudly and then embracing Armistice in a tight hug. Silent tears ran down her beautiful face as she pulled back.

'I have not seen you for such a long time.' Cali smiled and wiped away her tears. 'It is so good to see you. I hardly recognised you!'

Armistice frowned, staring pointedly at Cali's leg, her brow creased in worry. She stared levelly at her friend, eyes holding a question, she smiled however and nodded at her friend. Taking her arm she lead Cali outside where none of the crew could overhear her and Cali speaking.

'What happened to your leg?' Armistice asked sympathetically. 'I don't remember you limping.'

'There was an accident. I faired pretty well, my parents where not so lucky.' Cali smiled sadly before changing the subject, and leaving no room for further discussion about her gimpy left leg. 'What are you doing here anyway? I did not expect you to come in here. The last time that I saw you Keith was the very air that you breathed. I never actually thought that you would accept my invitation to come.'

Armistice felt a wave of guilt wash over her. 'I know, and I wasn't going to come. I thought that Keith was going to propose to me, but things didn't turn out the way that I expected them to. So I was wondering if you could do me a huge favour?'

'What is it Armistice?' Cali asked gently, gripping her friend's shoulder lightly for support. 'You know that I will do anything within my power to help you out.'

Armistice smiled in relief. 'I know, but this is big. I need a place to stay for a couple of weeks. Just until I get some money, and a place of my own, then I will leave you alone. Though I am quickly thinking of settling down on this island. It is every bit as nice as you once told me.'

'Of course you can stay with me!' Cali said hugging Armistice. 'Now, how on earth did you get here? I know that you can navigate, but it is an awfully large trip from Evengail to Tortic!'

Armistice laughed. 'To tell you the truth I did not come here alone. I cam here with the pirates in the bar. They are quite nice, I think that you will like them. Well most of them. Tyran is a bastard, and Mihawk is a jerk, but you will get along with the rest of the crew no problems.'

'You really think that highly of them?' Cali asked uncertainly.

'Of course, they really helped me out in my rough patch. Without them I would still be stuck on Evengail island. They also did not charge me any fees to come here, since they were headed this way anyhow.'

'That was very nice of them.' Cali said walking back into the bar where the boisterous pirates were. Hesitating for a moment, she walked over to Whitebeard and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned to face her she politely cleared her throat.

'Armistice said that you helped her through a rough patch, and for that I am grateful.' Cali said quietly. 'If I may be so bold, I would like to ask you how long that you intend to stay here at my little home island of Tortic. I will have to order enough grog for you and your men while you stay.'

Whitebeard chuckled. 'We have decided to stay for a week, so that Armistice can make a decision as to weather she stays on this island, or she returns to the ship and becomes a pirate among my crew.'

Armistice bristled with anger. She stomped over to where Whitebeard was sitting.

'I already told you that I am not going to join your crew.' Armistice retorted. 'I am going to stay here, where I belong. I am not good on the sea anyhow, and I seem to make more fights than anyone else aboard your vessel.'

Cali laughed, and cut Armistice off, talking again to Whitebeard. 'Well if you are staying for the week, why don't you come and stay at my house. I inherited a castle from my late parents, so there will of course be enough space for everyone. It is the least I can do since you saved Armistice, and brought her to me unharmed.'

'Thank you Lass, it sounds like a plan.' Whitebeard grinned.

Armistice seethed with anger when she discovered, an hour later, that she had been placed with Mihawk again. Storming off in a rage, she found Cali making up beds within her house.

Cali was humming a soft tune, a red colour staining her happy face. She looked so delighted at the prospect of guests, and even her walk seemed bouncy. Her limp was hardly even noticeable as she walked around all sides of each of the beds in the room. Placing crisp new sheets on each of them.

Armistice took one of the sheets from her hand to help her make a bed. After she was done, she stopped her friend from walking into the next room with a gentle hand.

'Please, I need you to change me from the room that I am in. I don't like Mihawk, and besides, I could never face him again after the argument that we had today. He doesn't like me either.'

'I highly doubt that. You are the only one that he will share a room with.' Rori grinned standing at the doorway. 'I just came up to see how far the progress was coming along. It looks like the two of you are doing a good job.'

'We are doing a good job.' Armistice said, smiling at Rori. 'But thank you for checking up on us, you are such a gentleman.'

Rori grinned and then disappeared around the corner.

'Who was that man?' Cali asked curiously. 'The two of you seem to get along quite well.'

Armistice noticed the slight increase in the pitch of Cali's voice. She seemed awkward and embarrassed. Armistice grinned in genuine amusement. 'You like him. You think that he is cute!'

Cali's face went red in embarrassment. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at Armistice. 'Now what would give you such a silly idea. I was simply asking who he was.'

Armistice sighed still amused. 'That is Rori. He's the ships navigator, and a wonderfully gentle man. He is very kind, and I think that it is a good thing that you think he's attractive. Chances are that he only came up to this room to see if you needed some manly help.'

'Well he is very good looking isn't he?' Cali whispered. 'I would like to meet him, but I guess there is really no time for that. The crew is only here for a week.'

Armistice grinned and walked around the bed to hug her friend. 'Don't worry, I will pull some strings. A week is plenty of time to meet someone new and discover their flaws and traits. I will see what kind of devious plan that I can come up with!'

* * *

Mihawk's golden eyes narrowed as the bedroom door slowly crept open, and Armistice poked her head around the mahogany framework.

Armistice watched Mihawk cautiously, her heart beating rapidly at just the sight of him. He looked so alert, as if he was ready to pounce the second that she made a false move. Armistice moved to sit on the bed beside him. She folded her hands meekly in her lap and angled her face to look into his startling eyes. Distractedly she brushed her red hair from her eyes and took a deep breath.

'Look, I'm sorry that I tried to force you to listen to me yesterday. You have every right to be angry at me. But I meant what I said. I do want to be your friend.' Armistice took another breath. 'I'm also sorry that I ignored you all night last night.'

Mihawk's eyes narrowed. He shifted his weight, and stayed silent for a moment. And then, as if out of instinct, he reached up and brushed a piece of Armistice's hay wire hair out of her face. The same strand that she had previously removed. He smiled slightly, and looked down at her hands.

'You are the only one on this ship that I can stand. At least you have the guts and courage to stand back up and face me. Even after I insult you and make you cry.' Mihawk smirked knowingly. 'But that does not change the fact that I am not going to help you with whatever it is that you are currently scheming. I want nothing to do with it, so you are on your own.'

Armistice's eyes widened in shock. She stood up from the bed, and looked down at him, her hands on her hips. 'How did you know that I was going to ask you a favour, to help me do something devious? I could simply be here to talk to you like friends do, since we have now successfully recovered from our first fight.'

'You make us sound as though we are a married couple.' Mihawk said. 'And I know that you are planning something because; one you have this little spark in your eye, and extra bounce in your step. Though that could just be because you scored some last night. But seeing as how you were in here with me, not scoring anything, I figured that you have a bounce in your step because you have an idea. Two, I overheard your conversation with Cali last night. I know that you want to get both her and Rori alone, so that they can talk.'

Dumbfounded, Armistice sat on the bed once again. Sarcasm laced her next words. 'Wow, you know, you are really good. Why did you become a pirate, when you would have suited the role of a detective so much better than you do evil guy who likes to ruin other people's plans.'

Mihawk threw his head back and laughed. His handsome face lit up, and his eyes became overly bright. His laugh was melodic, and seemed to make the whole room hum with excitement. When he had finished he stared hawk like at Armistice once again. Amusement still etched into his sharp features.

'Just because I can stand you, doesn't mean that I do not think that you are a fool.' Mihawk told her. 'You have no right digging into their lives, I will not be any part of it. If they want to talk then they will do it themselves, they will not wait for you to get up and tell them to. Have you ever thought that maybe Rori doesn't want to talk to Cali?'

Guiltily Armistice chewed her bottom lip. Then shook her head meaningfully. 'No, you're wrong. I saw the way that those two looked at each other. You're friends with Rori, can't you please get him to meet you somewhere, and then instead of you showing up, Cali can. Then the two of them can chat and fall in love, and everyone is happy.'

Mihawk sighed. 'Until the crew leaves. Then Cali will be heart broken. You're only doing this so that you will have a reason to stay, and not join the crew. Because you really do want to join the crew, but you are scared because you think that you have no friends. Which is true, but that is the whole reason that you are running away like a scared puppy.'

Armistice blinked. 'I do have friends. It may be only small, and we may not really talk. But I consider you as my friend. And you said so yourself, you can stand me, which means that you see me as a friendly figure as well. So I'm going to ignore your last comment because it will only serve to start a fight. So are you going to help me or not?'

Mihawk laid down on the bed, and looked up at the ceiling. His tone was bored, as if he didn't give a damn what happened. 'No.'

Armistice swallowed back disappointment. She then got back off the bed and walked to the door in silence. Biting her lip when her hand came into contact with the door, she turned back to look at the handsome man stretched across the bed before her. A burning heat hit her stomach, and then sunk into her lower regions, making her gasp in shock. She felt her face go red, before she turned back towards the door and fled to the third floor where she knew that Cali was getting ready for work.

The door swung open, showing the beautiful decorations within Cali's room. There was a huge king size bed in the middle of the room, with red and purple covers. The curtains were also purple, but were opened to let the light of the day into the room; turning it bright and cheerful. Next to the bed was a large wardrobe. Cali was sitting by it on a chair in the sun, quietly reading a glossy magazine. She looked up when Armistice entered the room and slammed the door in a hurry.

'Armistice, what in the world is wrong?' Cali asked limping over to her friend. 'You look as though you have been in a fight with a bear! Is Mihawk really that savage a man? What did he do to you?!'

Armistice smiled and sat down on Cali's bed, ruffling the covers. 'He didn't do anything to me. He may be an ogre, but he is not a thug. I just got this awful feeling, but it is gone now, so it's alright. All is well with the world once again!'

'Oh that is good then.' Cali smiled. 'Why don't you come and sit down for a while? I have some tea made, we could talk and catch up. We have not even had a chance to talk, it has just been so ridiculously busy around here.'

Armistice smiled happily. But she shook her head, and stood up from the bed. 'I would really love to, but I have some things that I have to prepare for. Could you meet me at the cave by the lake, in say, twenty minutes?'

Cali smiled gently at her once again, before taking her seat on the bed. 'Of course I can meet you there. Though I have no idea why you would want to go there. It's not as nice a place as what it seems when you view it from the sea.'

'That doesn't matter. It's a good private place to meet. No one can hear what we are saying then.' Armistice smiled and then left the room. She strode down the halls, until she found the other room that she was looking for and entered.

Like Cali's room, this one was just as gorgeous. It had large purple curtains, and four single beds, all made with red and purple coverings. Rori was just pulling a white shirt over his head. He was alone in the room.

'Rori?' Armistice asked quietly. 'Do you have a moment?'

Rori turned slowly, as if he had known that she was there the moment that she had entered the room. His kind grey eyes twinkled as he saw her, and he nodded at her encouragingly. 'It looks as though I don't really have a choice do I? You look as though you're wound up as tight as a spring. But if Mihawk has done something wrong, I can't stop him. I may be the only one on this ship that he listens to, but that doesn't mean that he will take my advice and do as I tell him to.'

Armistice giggled, and walked further into the room. 'I know that silly. I think that you could be best friends with Mihawk and he still would not take your advice. Anyway, we resolved our matter last night.'

Rori raised an eyebrow. 'Really? I was under the impression that you ignored him last night, and turned him into a brooding mess. Even though he doesn't like people talking to him, he hates it even more when they ignore him. Strange, I know.'

'Well it done him good, because this morning we had a talk. Well I talked to him, while he grunted every now and again at what I was saying.' Armistice sighed. 'I think that is the most I will ever get out of him, so I am not going to push it, he is who he is. Anyway, I have a favour, would you be able to meet me down at the cave by the sea, in about twenty minutes. It's the same cave that we saw when we were coming into the harbour. It is not hard to spot.'

Rori watched her suspiciously for a while, but then shrugged his shoulders. 'I guess that it couldn't hurt. But if you are planning to kill Mihawk, I cannot help you there. He will out do us both. He is very strong, so I suggest you stop trying to overcome him. It makes him angry.'

'Don't worry, I don't want to kill Mihawk. And if I wanted to make him angry, I would just steal his sword from him.' Armistice poked her tongue out at Rori playfully. 'I will see you soon then. Don't be late, it will be a big surprise when you come.'

Rori shook his head, and waved her out of the room.

Armistice smiled, pleased with herself. She ran from the mansion and to a large hill, that overlooked the sea side cave, where she got down on her stomach and watched for the movement of people. She had the energy of a five year old child.

Cali arrived at the cave first, but was closely followed by Rori. The two walked into the cave together, looking around for any sign of her.

'This is your big plan to get them together?'

Armistice felt fear shoot through her, as she jumped in shock. She whipped around to see Mihawk looming over her. Rolling her eyes she pulled him to the ground, and then pointed her finger to the cave.

'The two of them are in there together. They are going to talk, and then they are going to fall in love. Your theory is going to be proved wrong, and I will be the winner.' Armistice poked her tongue out and turned her blue eyes back to the scene of the cave.

Mihawk sighed, and looked in the same direction. 'You are one of the strangest losers I have ever come across.'

Affronted, Armistice glared at him. 'You don't have to be so rude you know. Why do you always do that, pick on all of my weak spots. So I like to see people happy, big deal! Why can't you just go along with it?'

'Because you don't want to see people happy.' Mihawk sneered. 'You are hiding something, and this is the way that you let on to Cali that you are okay. I saw the way you reacted when one of the crew asked you on a date. You froze, and stuttered, and then you ran away. You are compensating for something.'

'And that is why you disapprove. Yeah I get it, but you are wrong.' Armistice whispered, biting her lip. 'I would like to be able love again.'

Mihawk opened his mouth to pursue the conversation, when a large crash rumbled through the air. Acting on reflex, he pulled Armistice to his chest and pushed her warm and trembling body into the ground. Protecting her with his own large body.

Panicked, Armistice clung to Mihawk's solid chest for her life. When the rumbling was over, she stayed very still, waiting for him to give her a sign. His hand moved up and down her back, succeeding slighting in calming her quaking body.

'What was that?!' Armistice asked hysterically, looking up into Mihawk's sharp eyes. 'Is Cali, and Rori alright?'

The quake had been caused from the cave. The whole solid structure had fallen from some unknown reason, and now it stood, a great pile of rubble. No where was there any sign of either Cali, or Rori.

Armistice cried out in pain. Great tears sprang to her eyes, followed only by howling sobs. She did not try to stop the tears. 'Oh my God, I've killed them. I've killed them. This is all my fault.'

Mihawk, clutched at her tightly, whispering quietly in her ear. 'It was not your fault. They are not dead. Get a hold of yourself. Rori is a capable man, I have no doubts that he heard the structure falling, and pulled Cali to safety. Now stop your crying woman, and get a hold of yourself!'

Armistice leaned closer into the comfort of Mihawk's chest. She was pleased when he didn't pull away from her. 'It was my fault. I got them into this.'

'Well now we are going to get them out.' Mihawk scolded, finally pushing her away and getting to his feet. He walked down towards the rubble, not looking back to see if his distressed companion was even following.


	5. Cali and Rori

Cali and Rori

A/N: This is a very long chapter! Anyway, please review on this one, because I am trying something new with my writing style, so I would like to know if you think that it is good or bad. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

I do not own One Piece.

::I do however own Cali, Rori and Armistice. Along with bit characters such as the bandits, villagers, and village elder. Lol::

* * *

The cave rumbled gloomily after it had fallen. Rori clutched Cali tightly to his chest, and did not let her go until silence filled the cave. To Cali it seemed to take forever for the structure of the cave to settle, and when it finally did, there was dust everywhere. Cali cursed Armistice for the first time, as her leg fired up into unbearable pain, she had used it too much for one day, and did not even have the appropriate medicines to stop the pain available with her. Pushing away from Rori, she sat and rubbed her leg, trying to stop the ache. Why had Armistice pursued her stupid plan? What was it with her and finding the one true love?

'I guess we should probably stay here for a while.' Rori said quietly after a while. 'You know to see weather they will bring us back out or anything. I'm sure that once Armistice finds out that we have become trapped, she will tell Mihawk. The two of them will get us out.'

'Too bad for us Armistice hates Mihawk.' Cali said scathingly, her leg throbbing as the time passed. 'She will never go to him. Why does she have to be like this? She always pushes people into things, and doesn't even think about the consequences. She doesn't care what happens, as long as she gets what she wants!'

Rori sat down next to Cali. 'Now that's not very fair is it? Armistice cannot help who she is, and I am sure that she did not want anyone to get hurt. She just wants everyone to be happy. I think that it is because, on the contrary to what she says, secretly she is very unhappy. Though I do not know why.'

Silently, Cali agreed with Rori's assumption of her friend. Armistice had been strange since she had arrived at the island, not her usual bubbly self. Sure on the outside she acted happy, but Cali could see that something was eating her slowly from the inside out. Armistice had told her that it was only because she was disappointed that Keith had not asked her to marry him, but Cali did not believe her. The last time that Cali had visited Armistice, she had not been able to get her friend to shut up about her beloved boyfriend. Over the past few days however, she had not been able to get her friend to even utter his name. It was if the word Keith had become taboo.

After a few hours, Rori suggested the two of them take the time to sleep, and when they woke up they could explore the cave, and maybe find a way out. Leg still throbbing, Cali settled down, expecting to be awake the whole time, and get no sleep what so ever. Nearly instantly however, she drifted into a deep slumber, her dreams filled with falling roofs and skies, in which she was always crushed servilely only to jump into the scene of a completely different dream. She jumped awake alert and sweating after a particularly vivid dream, in which she had been crushed by a mountain. Sleep did not come back, so she took the time to watch her peacefully sleeping companion. Briefly she wondered how he could remain so calm in the circumstances.

When Rori finally awoke groggy from his sleep, he tried to persuade Cali to let him carry her through the cave when he noticed her rub her leg once again. Angrily she brushed him off and started into the dark, unexplored depths of the cave. It was pitch black and she could not see a thing, so was comforted when she felt his hand grab hold of hers, and his fingers weave through her own. They walked for what seemed like hours, until Cali was forced to ask if they could have a break. Rori agreed, but kept a supportive arm around her waist the whole time, never daring to let go, and risk losing her.

'This may seem like a rude question, and you don't have to answer.' Rori said after a prolonged period of tension, where the only sound was the slight shuffling of Cali rubbing her hand up and down her leg to soothe the pain. 'But how did you get such an injury. It seems to be very painful.'

Cali froze, but then forced herself to relax. She had never told anyone else the story of her limp. Not even Armistice. 'I was on a large cruise ship with my family. It was hosted by the Marines. We were attacked by some pirates, who boarded our ship, and made us line up against the wall. They wanted me to go aboard their ship with them...'

Cali choked, but as she felt the tears slide down her cheeks, she became even more determined to finish her story. ' ... Sorry... My father attacked them, and when they shot him through the chest, my mother grabbed me and we ran. She was shot in the back as she pushed me into the sea. I was dragged along with the current, until I landed on a small rocky island. But as I climbed up the side of the rocks, I slipped and injured myself. Determined to find safety, I walked on my leg anyway, and once I got into town, there was nothing that they could do to fix the permanent limp that I had acquired.'

Sighing, Cali looked to where she guessed Rori's face to be. 'A week later the ship washed up on shore, everyone was dead. I attended the funeral, saying goodbye to my parents, and then I paid to get transported back to my home island. I tried to continue as if nothing had ever happened. And after a while, people stopped asking questions and left me alone. Now it's like I was always like this.'

'I'm so sorry Cali.' Rori said quietly. 'I know what it is like to lose parents, but you must believe me when I say that not all pirates are like the ones that hurt you. Those types of people are just monsters, who think that they can get away with anything.'

Cali leaned into Rori's chest, finally feeling comfortable with his company. 'I know. I try not to judge anyone before I meet them, that is why when Armistice told me about how you helped her, I asked you all to stay. When I first saw you walk into my bar, I was very scared. But after I had talked with Armistice, I decided to face my fear. It is the only way such things can be overcome.'

The couple clutched to the warmth of each other in silence for a moment longer, before they got to their feet and continued to walk. This time they filled in the silence with idle chit chat, making each other laugh with stupid jokes they had acquired from friends. Soon, both of them very hungry and thirsty, they came to what seemed like the end of the cave. Panic overtook Cali, as she felt the dead end, but Rori calmly pointed out that there was a small hole in part of the wall. In fact there was a beam of sunlight shining through, giving just a touch of colour to the black of the darkness within the cave.

'It looks like we have found our way out Cali.' Rori soothed.

Excitement flooded through Cali and she silently thanked God. The two of them were going to be alright. They were going to survive after all. Something that she had not thought possible when the cave had first collapsed on them.

* * *

Rori brought his fist back and punched the weakened area of the cave repeatedly, until it gave way to the force of his fist and fell through. Left in its place was a hole big enough to fit one person at a time through. He turned to Cali and took her hand offering to let her go out of the cave first.

Frightened Cali shook her head, and pulled away from him. 'You go first, I don't want you to see me go through.'

'I wouldn't laugh if you struggled.' Rori smiled, but turned from his companion to face the hole in the wall. Reaching towards the hole, he firmly gripped the rock and pulled himself upwards. Swinging his legs over the side he jumped down to the soft grass, of a strange jungle like scenery.

Biting her bottom lip in alarm, Cali attempted to copy Rori's actions. She was unsuccessful, as she was not as tall, and could to pull her body weight up the side of the rock. Loosing her grip she fell to the ground, landing at an odd angle on her weak leg. She cried out as pain lanced through her entire body.

'Cali, are you alright?' Rori asked alarmed. Not waiting for an answer, he jumped back into the cave to find her rubbing her leg and sobbing softly. Slowly he sat down beside her, and took over the rubbing of her leg. Slowly he moved his hands up and down the rough, torn skin that her accident had left her.

'You know we don't have to get out straight away.' Rori said quietly, his hands never stopping from the slow rhythm, running lightly up and down Cali's leg. 'But if you couldn't get out, you should have let me know. I would not laugh at you, I would have helped you. You can trust me Cali.'

A tingling sensation moved through Cali's leg from Rori's touch, it was so vibrant that the pain was all but drowned out. Still sobbing slightly, she leaned her head into his shoulder, relaxing her entire body, and letting him take over.

'I know I can trust you.' Cali whispered after a moment of silence. 'It's just, even if you were there, it would have been hard for me to get out. I didn't want you to see how weak I am. I want to be strong like you and Armistice. I don't want to be the one who is always left behind any more. Because that is what will happen. Armistice will go with the crew, I am certain. She likes them, they make her feel good. When she is talking about them, it's like nothing else in the world matters. I have never seen her like that before.'

Rori's hands stopped for a moment, as he turned his head to face Cali. 'I don't think that you are weak. I think that you have a big heart. It takes a lot of nerve to let the ones you love go. If you were weak, you would try to make every reason as to why Armistice should stay with you. You would not try to get her to leave. But maybe one day, someone will see your strength, and instead of leaving without you, they will stay until you are ready to leave with them.'

Cali watched Rori awestruck, as he once again began to massage her leg with his skilful hands. It was only then that she truly noticed the kindness in his face. He had always struck her as handsome, but now he seemed so much more than merely good looking. Smiling Cali snuggled her face deeper into his shoulder, smelling his scent with glee. He smelt of the sea, and something else that she couldn't quite pick.

'Do you really believe in what you just said?' Cali asked uncertainly.

Rori smiled at Cali. 'I do. But now I think that it is time that we got out of this rotten cave, and got home. I think that it will take us a while to navigate to the main part of town, I had not realised how big this island actually is. I had a bit of a look around, and it looks as though we are in some kind of forest.'

'A forest? I didn't think this island even had a forest. But then again, to tell the truth, I have never actually been exploring. With my leg, I can't really do much of anything anyway. Once I came back to my home, I never actually left again.'

Rori got to his feet, and pulled Cali up with him. He threw his arm around her waist protectively, securing her, and waiting for her to get her balance back. 'Does your leg feel a bit better?'

He was so close that Cali felt heady. The pain in her leg had miraculously left her, instead leaving a warm glow on the parts that his hands had been rubbing. Cali found that she was tongue tied and could not answer his question, so dumbly she just nodded her head.

'That's good.' Rori said, lifting her into his arms, and carrying her to the hole in the cave wall. He pushed her upwards so that she was able to sit in the hole with a little bit of room. Smiling slightly, he climbed up behind her, but the hole was not big enough for the two of them to go through at the same time. He was forced to slide back into the cave.

'Are you going to be able to land on the ground without hurting yourself?' Rori called to Cali.

Warmth rushed through Cali from his concern, and she smiled down at him. 'I think that I can. My leg feels a lot better since you massaged it. Thank you.'

Slowly, Cali manoeuvred her body down the side of the cave to the ground. She sat for a while waiting for Rori to join her, feeling a lot better than what she had in a very long time.

Rori jumped down from the hole, and landed next to Cali. Laughing in victory, he pulled her into his chest, bending his head slightly, and moving his face close to hers, until their lips touched slightly.

The breath was stolen from her lungs at the light touch of his lips. They felt so smooth and soft on her own. She wanted more, and was eager to show him by standing on her tip toes despite the pain that lanced through her side.

'Aw look boys, isn't it cute?' A rough voice asked from behind the couple, causing them to spring apart guiltily. 'Too bad that we have to break it up. But don't worry, we may be able to sell the two of you together as a package deal.'

A group of five rough looking men laughed at the man, who could only be their leader. They all wore brown long pants, and floppy tops. They had long beards, and smelt as though they had not washed for days. Quite clearly the men were bandits. Rori stepped bravely in front of Cali, gently pushing her to the ground where she would be out of harms way.

'If you want us, you will have to go through me first.' Rori growled, taking two small daggers from his boots. 'But I warn you, if you want to live. Run away now as fast as you can.'

The bandits broke into laughter, each pulling their own weapons from the sheaths hanging to on the waist of their pants. They all used very large swords.

Cali whimpered when they ran at Rori in unison. She had never before seen a fight, but she knew enough to know that he was terribly outnumbered. The odds against him did not look kindly his way. He did not stand a chance against so many opponents.

Ducking their attacks, Rori brought his dagger up and sliced the throat of the nearest man. The bandit fell heavily to the ground. His eyes staring at some unseen horror. Not stopping to wait for the next attack, Rori pivoted and struck again, but this time the bandits were ready for him, and jumped from his reach. They all attacked in unison again, this time stabbing Rori in his left hip, forcing him to his knees barely an inch away from the horrified Cali.

'Rori!' Cali screamed horrified. Launching herself to her feet, she ignored the pain in her leg, and threw herself into his arms, barely registering what she was doing. She closed her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the blow to come to her back.

Growling, Rori flipped her over, and took the attack straight to his back. He fell slightly, his elbows the only things keeping him from falling on top of her. 'I told you not to get involved. If I do not kill them all, which I highly doubt, you have to run. I will stall them.'

'No. I will not leave you.' Cali said fiercely. 'You did not leave me back in the cave, and you very well could have. Now I am not going to run away. I would very much prefer to die with you, then die with regret because I ran away in fear!'

Gritting his teeth, Rori rolled off her body, and jumped back to his feet. He took down two more of the bandits. Coolly he surveyed the one bandit remaining. 'Looks like your leader has scarped, and left you to my fury. You will not survive.'

With quick sure steps, Rori lunged for the remaining bandit, and ran him threw. Laughing slightly with victory he turned to find Cali in the arms of the leader bandit. The bandit was holding both her nose and her mouth closed, laughing at her futile attempts to escape.

'It was such a touching moment before.' The bandit laughed. 'But you should have let her run. Maybe then I would not have made you watch her die.'

Cali dug her nails into the bandits skin, but he did not let her go. Slowly she started to run out of breath, the only thing keeping her conscious was the demonic look of outrage on Rori's face. He looked so angry that she was too scared to give in to the threatening darkness.

'Let her go!' Rori rumbled. 'You have no business with her. Why don't you stop being a coward and take me on instead?'

The bandit laughed. 'Face it, you will kill me, but by the time that you do. Your little girlfriend here will be dead.'

Rori lunged for the bandit taking him by surprise. His blade was fast, and sure, and left the bandit staring at the sky, a frozen look of confusion on his pale face. Clutching at one of his wounds Rori turned to pull the spluttering Cali into his arms. He carried her to the cave wall, where he sat down, stroking her back, and trying to catch his breath.

Cali sobbed into Rori's chest, choking in as much oxygen as her lungs could hold. She did not care that she was now covered in blood. She only cared that he was alright. Ignoring all rationality, Cali leaned up and pushed her lips into Rori's.

Rori returned the gesture, pulling her tight against his body, and demanding access to the hot caverns of her mouth with his tongue. After he pulled away, he did not let her go. Instead he clutched her head to his chest, and rocked her sobbing form backwards and forwards until she lay still against his chest.

'Are you alright Cali?' Rori asked weakly, the loss of blood finally starting to affect him. 'I'm sorry if I scared you back then.'

'I thought you would die!' Cali gasped, lightly she brushed her lips against his cheek, savouring the feel of the slight roughage she felt there. 'We need to get those wounds of yours fixed up, and something to eat. I don't think that you will make it back to the main town.'

Quickly, Cali grabbed one of the dead bandits shirts and ripped it into strips of makeshift bandages. She then took them over to Rori and pulled his own shirt over his head. She wrapped his wounds securely, and by the time that she had finished, darkness had fallen. She found a large pack that had been thrown hastily to the side when the fight had began, and after hunting through it, she found a very small tent, some smoked meat, and a bottle of water.

'I think that we should move into the forest.' Rori said pointedly. 'If anyone comes by, then they will see us as a threat, and I am in no condition to fight again so soon.'

Cali nodded. She threw her arm about Rori's waist to support his weight, though he did not lean into her. When they found a small clearing deep within the woods, Cali set up camp. The two of them settled down in the tent, each relying on the other's body warmth to stop the chill of the night. Slowly Cali drifted off into a deep sleep, comforted by the slight weight of Rori's arms around her small form.

* * *

The forest was bright and green of a day time, but pitch black and full of monstrous howls and screams through the night. Cali often found herself clinging to Rori of a night, comforted only by his whispered words, and strong protective arms. The two of them became quite close, though Cali refused to move from the camp site, even two days after the fight with the bandits. She told Rori that he was not fully healed yet, and she did not want him dropping dead because he lost more blood.

Rori did not bother to argue with her, and Cali soon got the feeling that he enjoyed her fusing over him all the time. He would ask her for a back rub when it started to get late in the evening, and afterwards, he would rub her leg, all the while telling her stories of his adventures out at sea with Whitebeard's crew. Cali would listen and wish that she could have been with him, though they sounded dangerous, she could not help but think of them with a longing. She wondered if it was the way that he descried each event, he had a wonderful voice and could make her picture anything in her mind with vibrant colours.

Still, after the second evening, when the two of them sat snuggled together by a makeshift fire, Cali thought back to the fight outside the cave. There were not many bandits, but she could not squash the feeling that there would be more, and when they found their friends they would be very angry. Cali secretly doubted that even Rori would be able to take them all on, he had already injured himself taking on the other bandits, and with her gimpy leg she would be no help to him; even if she knew how to fight.

She told Rori of her fears, and he gently kissed her, before holding her close to his chest and telling her without words that it would be okay. But by the fourth day that they had been in the forest, Cali started to hear things around her in the bush. She became so terrified one night that she couldn't sleep, which resulted in a very grumpy Rori who had woken to keep her company through the long night. On the morning of the fifth day, the two of them were tired and narky, picking at each other with nasty words. That day Rori left Cali alone at the tent to hunt for some food, throwing her hand off his shoulder for the first time since he had been injured.

When he came back to the camp site he silently and broodingly placed the fresh rabbit that he had caught in her lap. She cooked it straight away and then ate her breakfast with guilt. A few hours later she tried to make it up with him, and it seemed that he had forgiven her as he pulled her into his lap, and kissed her on the neck. The whole time they had been together he had been such a gentle man towards her, not once had he asked for anything more than a kiss.

'I'm sorry.' Cali whispered, leaning into him. 'I didn't mean to keep you awake all night last night. It was stupid of me to get so paranoid. I guess that I just want to get out of here and go back home. I'm tired of the jungle and I want to be where I am safe. I want to be somewhere that there is a doctor who can look at your wounds, and make you all better.'

Rori smiled and kissed her on the lips. 'I will be alright. My wounds are feeling a lot better. You have done a wonderful job, but now I think that the two of us should be getting back to town. And the only way that we are going to be able to do that, is if we walk through this forest.'

'Okay, but are you sure that you are going to be alright?'

After reassurance from Rori, Cali packed their small camp-site, and temporary home away. Rori took the large pack from her, despite her protests, and started to walk. The two of them walked for what seemed like hours on end, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Cali couldn't help but envision Rori's wounds splitting open and him bleeding to death. When such images attacked her, she would grab hold of his hand tightly , and they would walk for hours together through the forest.

Finally as daylight finally fled, and the night spread over the sky, the two of them came to what looked like a small village. It had sturdy little houses, and markets, though it was quite small. The people that walked in and out of the village paid them no mind as they entered the village square. Cali felt her heart near burst as parents called their young children into their homes to sleep.

'Can I help you two?' An old man with a long white beard asked. 'I am the village elder, and will be happy to help you with your every need.'

Relief tore through Cali's very being and she explained that they needed a doctor. Rori was helped right away, and afterwards they were given a cosy room within the elder's home.

'You are a truly amazing woman.' Rori said settling in beside Cali on the bed they had been loaned. 'You got us a bed for the night, and a free doctor. People really take to you.'

Cali clutched at Rori's bare chest, mindful of his stitches. 'I just wanted you to be alright. Now we will be able to have a good night sleep, and in the morning we can try to contact Armistice. She probably thinks that we are dead.'

'I have a better idea.' Rori whispered, slowly pulling Cali's shirt over her head, and kissing her on the shoulder. 'Let's take the whole day off to get to know each other. Then and only after tomorrow, we can call Armistice and Mihawk.'

Cali shuddered as Rori took the rest of her clothes off, and positioned himself above her. She clutched at his shoulders, overwhelmed by the speed in which things were happening. 'Rori, I don't know about this. You probably won't like it, I mean I haven't ever done this before!'

'Shhh. I will not hurt you, the only reason that you are scared is exactly that, you have not done it before.' Rori kissed Cali on the neck. 'Do you trust me?'

'With all of my heart.' Cali whispered, allowing Rori to wind her legs around his waist. She breathed in deeply as he gently and slowly allowed himself the most intimate access of her body. 'I trust you Rori.'

When the two of them lay on the bed together spent of all their energy, Rori kissed her on the lips. 'I told you that I would not hurt you.'

'I know.' Cali sighed, falling into the most blissful sleep she had ever had.

The next day, the two of them spent alone, enjoying the company. It was the first time that they had been able to spend time with each other, when they were not trying to survive, and Cali found herself becoming more and more attached to Rori, then she ever had been to any other living person. Her heart jumped, when the children of the village ran over to him, and he lifted them into the air, in a game that they had made up. He was wonderful with the villagers and the children, so wonderful that they were even invited to a local festival.

The village elder explained to them that it was the festival of fire jumping. A couple would jump the fire together to test their love, it also bound them together for all of eternity. After the last couple had jumped over the flames, Rori grabbed hold of Cali's hand. He half-dragged her to the fire, and after lifting her into his arms he jumped with her over the raging heat. The village cheered, and offered them drinks, but Rori refused, instead carrying Cali all the way back to the house of the village elder. Once there, he sat Cali on the bed, kneeling down he took her hand.

'I know I didn't officially ask you to marry me Cali.' Rori said, he placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. 'But I was never one for beating around the bush. But I sure would like to have an official wedding, though I would like to invite the villagers, and have it here if I could. And if you will accept.'

Tears gleaming in her eyes, Cali threw herself at him, her arms twining around his neck. 'But what about your career as a pirate? You love the sea, don't you want to go back?'

'I thought that we could settle in here, make our own little house.' Rori smiled. 'I could chase away the bandits as a job. But I would only do it if you agree to become my beautiful wife.'

Cali nodded, too overwhelmed with happiness to answer him with words. 'I think that would be wonderful, though we are already married. I liked our wedding.'

'Me too.' Rori smiled. 'Though I think we should keep your big old castle for a holiday house. We can take the children there when they eventually come along. Though I do want to wait for a few years. I want to have you all to myself for a few years before we start thinking about a family.'

Cali nodded and kissed her husband deeply. And after he had made love to her, making her feel as though she was the most beautiful women in all the world, the two of them clung to each other, talking about what they would do when they finally met back up with Whitebeard and the crew. Rori assured her that his Captain would understand, and would most likely want to stay around for their second wedding.

Three days later Rori's prediction came true. Whitebeard, and his crew, led by Mihawk and a very teary Armistice walked into the village. The chief asked them all to stay a while, but Whitebeard declined most hospitality, instead setting up camp just outside the small village. The crew took full advantage of the bar and the villager's home made grog, none of them even said a word when Cali and Rori expressed their wish to remain within the village.

* * *

Rori led the small group of himself, Cali, Armistice, Whitebeard and Mihawk through the forest until he found a small clearing for them to all sit at. He helped Cali set out a large table cloth, and the food that she had prepared the night before.

Cali smiled at her husband, groggy from the affection that he continued to show her everyday. She took plates and cups out of the basket that they had brought along, and poured the Armistice and herself a glass of red wine, as Rori filled the plates with food. Smiling at Armistice she handed her a glass.

Whitebeard laughed good naturedly, but refused a glass of wine. 'Wine is not for me! I like my strong grog!'

Cali giggled and pulled out a bottle of rum that she had saved just for the men. She handed them a glass each and let them talk among themselves for a while. Quietly she turned to her friend and placed a hand on Armistice's wrist. She had a lot to thank her friend for.

'You look so miserable Armistice.' Cali said quietly. 'I know that you didn't mean for that cave to fall. I have already told you that you are forgiven. You should just cheer up and treat the day as you would have before the incident. We made it out safe and sound. It was not as bad as what you seem to think that it was. I very much enjoyed it.'

'You say that, but I still feel bad. Mihawk was right. I pushed you two together because I am a selfish person, who always wants everything to go the way that I want it to.' Armistice stared at her hands, her red hair falling into her face. 'If I hadn't had been so stupid, I wouldn't have pushed the two of you into that cave, and you would never have been through the ordeals that you suffered. I am so so sorry!'

Cali smiled at her friend. Throwing her arms around Armistice she hugged her. 'If you hadn't forced me into that cave, Rori and I would never have got married. We would not have jumped the fire together, and decided to start a life with one another.'

All eyes averted to Cali, and Rori walked over to throw his arm around his wife's waist. To further emphasis the point, he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips before again addressing the small gathering of pirates.

'Cali and I brought you here today to share our wonderful news. We want you to come to our second wedding, though there is some bad news that comes with it I am afraid.' Rori sighed, but looked Whitebeard in the eye. 'I loved being part of your crew, but now I want to stay on this island and start a life with Cali. I am resigning from my post as navigator, and I am very sorry for the troubles that this has most likely caused for the crew. But I cannot leave, I love this wonderful woman too much.'

Cali smiled, a warmth spreading through her veins, as she looked up into Rori's loving grey eyes. She leaned her head on his shoulder, before looking at Armistice.

'We have decided to stay in this small village. It will be wonderful for the children when they come.' Cali smiled at her friend. 'But we wanted to ask you to take Rori's position as navigator. I know how much you love to navigate your way through places, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Each day you will learn something new, and you will be able to grow in skill.'

Whitebeard laughed heartily, and slapped Rori on the back, before he shook hands with Cali. Mihawk nodded slightly, though he seemed uncaring, as he sat back down, and drank from his cup of rum. Armistice stared at her friend. Her face reflected both her happiness for her friend, and her horror.

'I don't know, isn't the crew going to the Grandline?' Armistice asked timidly. 'I mean, I can navigate around here, but I will not survive in the Grandline. Sure I can take on a few Marines, but that is all. I mean Mihawk and Tyran have both proved that I cannot fight on a strong level. The crew will forever be looking out for me, and that is something that I cannot live with.'

'It is entirely up to you Armistice.' Cali said kindly. 'Though, I think that you should go. I know that you will regret it if you don't, and remember that you will have time to learn how to fight. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You should take it, and besides, the crew needs a navigator.'

'I'm sorry.' Armistice's voice cracked. 'I cannot, and will not do it. I am sorry Whitebeard, but it is better that I let you down now, rather than let you down later when we are fighting some huge monster. I have caused enough trouble for this crew. I nearly killed one of the members along with my best friend. I will not risk going with the crew.'

Bitter disappointment flooded Cali, but she did not dare to let it show in her face. She could feel that Rori was having the same problem, as his grip tightened on her waist. Though they both stayed silent.

'That is your choice.' Cali said. 'Like I said before, we are not going to force you to take the position. We just thought that you may like it.'

'That's right Armistice. I told you when I brought you over from Evengail that there is a spot on my crew for you.' Whitebeard told Armistice seriously. 'I never said that you had to take it. I can find a navigator anywhere. I will give you until we leave to make up your mind, but that does not mean that you have to come with us. I do not want members in my crew regretting their choices.'

'Thank you.' Armistice said quietly, calming down slightly. 'However I do not think that my mind will change. My decision is very firmly planted in my head. I just want to start a life here on Tortic. It will make me very happy.'

'Do not fool yourself.' Mihawk scoffed. 'You are again being selfish. You are thinking only of yourself. The crew needs you, yet you refuse to help those who helped you. Have you ever considered that maybe Rori and Cali do not want you here on the island. Ever thought that they wanted time alone to themselves?'

'Mihawk that is not true!' Cali yelled, outraged that he could make such assumptions, and attack her best friend with them. 'Armistice of course we want you here. You are very welcome to stay with us.'

Armistice stared at Mihawk for a while, but finally she cracked and burst into tears.

'Oh how I hate you! You are such a bastard, you are always picking out my faults, and I have never once done anything to you! All as I ever asked of you was that we become friends, but as soon as I make a mistake you turn on me.' Armistice yelled. 'I may be selfish, and only think of myself, but at least I am human enough to talk to other people. You just sit around brooding all day. You do not even try for conversation, the crew are scared of you because you glare at them if they look at you! You are a jerk!'

Mihawk growled, and stepped forward, towering over Armistice. 'I am only telling you the truth. You are a coward, and you are running away, just like you ran away from your hometown. I don't know why you left, and I don't want to know why you left, but you were still running away from something.'

Armistice's hand flew through the air, connecting with Mihawk's cheek. He did not even flinch, rather he stared at her harder, as if he had expected her to hit him. Tears leaked over Armistice's eyes, and stepping back she turned to Cali and Rori.

'I'm so sorry.' Armistice whispered, she then turned and fled into the forest. The direction in which she took, was opposite of that of the village.

'How could you say such terrible things?!' Cali demanded of Mihawk, fear for her friend wracking through her body. 'She is sorry for her mistakes, and no she did not take the position of navigator, but that does not give you the right to treat her the way that you just did!'

'Cali is right Mihawk.' Rori growled walking over to his friend. 'If you want her to join the crew so badly, then you should tell her so. You are her only friend aboard that ship. Tyran has everyone else under his little finger, and since he hates her, they all do. That is the reason that she is not joining the crew.'

'I think that you are the only person that will be able to convince her to join.' Whitebeard said. 'Mihawk, go and find her, and talk to her. Do not come back until she is happy with your company.'

'The two of you will get along a lot better than what you both seem to think.' Cali told him. 'Armistice trusts you the most out of the crew. She does not let go of her friends easily, so if she thinks of you as her friend, then she will certainly forgive you. And then you can forgive her. There are no winners in this fight. You are both in the wrong.'

Mihawk growled before walking into the forest to follow Armistice. Whitebeard sighed, and gulped the last of his rum. He then helped Cali and Rori pack away the picnic that they had shared.

'With time the two of them will resolve their differences.' Whitebeard said. 'Though I think that it will be a good lesson if they are caught in the upcoming storm. It will teach them a lesson.'

Cali looked up at the darkening sky in apprehension. She clutched at Rori's hand as they began to walk back to the village. 'I really hope that they are alright. I would hate for something bad to happen to either of them. Though I do think that you are right Whitebeard.'

Rori laughed and kissed his wife on the cheek. 'You are too caring for your own good. The two of them will do just fine. Armistice has played matchmaker, and now it is our turn, because maybe something a bit more than friendship will come out of their little meeting.'

Happiness surged through her, and Cali smiled at Rori. 'You are seeing the world through rose tinted glasses my friend. Just because the two of us fell in love, does not mean that they will. The world is not always black and white. There are many shades of grey in between.'

Rori laughed. 'You are such a poet, so full of wisdom. But seriously, they will work it out, and besides Mihawk will not let anything happen to Armistice. It would hurt his pride too much if she got hurt while he was there. He will protect her. It is the kind of man that he is.'


	6. Revised Rejection

A/N: I have written this chapter about three times, it did not seem right the other two times, so I hope you enjoy it this time! Please remember to review!!

I do not own One Piece.

* * *

Armistice stared at Mihawk in shock, after dealing him the staggering blow to the cheek. Her hand tingled from the contact, and she felt panic tighten her chest, and make it hard for her to continue breathing. Turning to Cali and Rori, she numbly whispered. 'I'm so sorry.'

She did not wait for them to reply, but rather turned and fled in the opposite direction to the camp. She did not stop running until she became lost in the thick terrain of the forest around her. Sighing she dropped to the ground, unable to cope with the occurring events.

The forest around her was quickly becoming black in the darkening afternoon light. The trees seemed to hunch over menacingly, and instead of singing, the birds simply screamed. When the sun slid down behind the horizon, and the moon rose high in the sky, small fireflies started to flit around Armistice's shaking form.

Trembling in fear, Armistice clutched her knees to her chest, for a moment regretting her initial reaction to run into the forest. But then her mind sprang to Mihawk's carefully planned out words, and the horrified look on Cali's face as Armistice had turned to flee. How could she possibly walk back into the camp, and act as if nothing had ever happened? She had slapped Mihawk, and rejected Whitebeard's offer to become chief navigator aboard the finest vessel in the seven seas. They would all despise her now, they were probably laughing at her behind her back, agreeing on what a loser and a coward she truly was. Mihawk was right, she had no friends, because she was a selfish person who only ever thought of herself.

A particularly tall bush rattled slightly, as a dark figure pushed their way through and into the small clearing that Armistice occupied. She was not paying attention and did not realise that there was someone watching her until they tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

Armistice nearly jumped into a tree when she felt a strong hand touch her shoulder, and turned around to see Mihawk standing behind her. His eyes were a soft yellow in the darkness, though they still stood out like a beacon. Surprisingly the presence of her ex-roomate was welcome, and sent heat spiralling through her body. The thought of being in the forest at night did not seem like such a big deal with his appearance, she felt safe in his presence, and knew that she wouldn't be bothered by any beasts.

'I came to find you.' Mihawk stated awkwardly. He sat down beside her, and followed her gaze towards the fireflies. 'You ran off so quickly that I couldn't keep up with you. I followed the path, but it seems that you did not use it, otherwise you would have come to some sort of cave mouth next to the river.'

Bitterly, Armistice clenched her hands. She had no idea of what she was supposed to say to him. It seemed as though he had forgotten the whole incident with the slap, but she knew that he never forgot anything. Tension started to build in the base of her neck, and absent-mindedly she rubbed it, before answering him. 'I knew that I could find my way back eventually, I am very good with direction you know.'

Mihawk laughed. 'I know, and I was not worried about weather or not you could find your way back. It was more the beasts that I saw on my way here that kept me going. I knew that if they attacked you, then you would be in a spot of trouble.'

Armistice stopped rubbing her neck, and smiled slightly. How did he do that? Make an unbearable situation between them feel comfortable. Around him, all of her defences dropped within a second. She had never met anyone who could make her angry one minute, and then joyous the next. 'How does your face feel?'

'You did not hit me that hard.' Mihawk said stubbornly, puffing out his chest slightly. 'If I got hung up on such a small action, then I would be a fool. And in other words I would be weak. I cannot afford to be weak, and I refuse to be a fool.'

'That does not stop you.' Armistice said measuredly, remembering his cutting words only a few hours before. 'You may not be tricked by people, but you are a fool in the fact that you are a jerk. I have not done anything to you, and yet you act as if I am your worst enemy.'

'And for that...' Mihawk lifted Armistice's hand and placed it to his lips for a moment, before looking up at her. 'I am sorry. My words were out of line back in the clearing. I spoke for once without thinking, but you seem to have that effect on me. I cannot keep the words in my head.'

Armistice froze, and looked down at her hand. The spot that his lips had touched felt like it had been scorched by an intense fire. She could not believe that he had just apologised to her. She had not thought it even remotely possible for him to do such a thing. 'Did you just apologise to me?'

Mihawk grinned. 'I can be nice. Anyway, I know that my words were out of line, I just wanted to hurt you so that you would feel as though you had to join Whitebeard's crew. I want you to become our navigator, and come to the Grandline with us. I can teach you how to fight if you need it.'

Armistice laughed an shook her head. 'I don't think that I will take to the sword very fast. I think that I might purchase myself a bo staff. At least then I can teach myself some useful tricks. I have already had some training with that weapon, as well as hand to hand. Though I must admit I am not all that good.'

'Does that mean you have made up your mind and decided to join the crew after all?' Mihawk asked quietly, his gaze searching her face as if to find the answer before she said it.

The grin fell from her face, as Armistice realised what she had just blurted out. 'I don't know! I want to, but how am I supposed to face Whitebeard after I rejected his proposal with such force, and finality? What will he think when I tell him that I have changed my mind after a talk with you? He will probably think that I will want to leave the crew every time that we have a fight, because you are my only friend aboard that ship Mihawk.'

'What you have to do is apologise to him, and then ask if his offer still stands. If it does then you can tell him that you have revised you decision, and you now want to accept his proposal and join his crew as chief navigator.' Mihawk said simply.

'What if the offer doesn't stand?'

'Then you will deal with it when the time comes.' Mihawk said, pulling Armistice to her feet. 'Now let's go back to camp. In the morning you can get council with Whitebeard. But for now you need to get some rest, so that you will be fresh for the day ahead.'

It took twenty minutes for the two of them to navigate through the forest. An hour later they were fast asleep, Armistice with a smile on her face, the tension gone from her shoulders as she lay against Mihawk's rock solid chest; entwined in his strong arms.

* * *

The wind was cold as it rushed into the shared tent of Mihawk and Armistice. It invaded even the warm blankets that they were wrapped up in, forcing them awake, so that they could finally face the problems that the day was to bring.

Rubbing her eyes, Armistice turned her head slightly so that she could look up at Mihawk. He had kept her warm through the night, and his arms were still wrapped firmly around her waist. 'Good Morning. I trust that you slept well.'

'But of course.' Mihawk said simply, before sitting up and climbing out of the side of the sleeping bag they had shared. He picked up a clean shirt and pulled it over his head, before looking back at Armistice, who still had not pried her body out of the bed. 'You should get ready for your talk with Whitebeard. The sooner that you do it, the sooner it will be over. There is no point in dragging the confrontation out longer than necessary.'

Armistice sighed in regret, and climbed out of the sleeping bags warmth and into the chill air. Absently, she walked to the tent flap and peered out.

There was commotion within every corner of the large camp site, indicating that the crew was awake and ready to start the new day. The green tents were being pulled down one by one by their occupants, and stuffed back into the small bags that they had originally been found in.

Panicking, Armistice turned to Mihawk, her blue eyes wide with shock. 'You knew that they were leaving today? That is the reason that you are making me have a meeting with Whitebeard so early!'

'It was suggested a few days ago that we would not be sticking around for the wedding. It would become too suspicious for the Marines, and they would attack the island.' Mihawk sighed, and started to roll up the sleeping bag. 'If you want to appeal to Whitebeard, now is your last chance. Take it while you still can.'

'Then you will take care of my things?' Armistice asked. 'You will pack them away for me and stow them with yours? I shall not be long, but I promise to come back with good results!'

'Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get going, I do not want to have to pack this tent up on my own.' Mihawk said in a bored tone. 'So when you come back, if I haven't pulled the whole tent down already, then you can do the rest. It is a job much more suited to you anyway.'

Armistice rolled her eyes, but ignored Mihawk's comment. She ran as fast as she could, ducking and weaving through the many tents, until she came to the largest one of all. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, and opened the tent flap, granting herself admission into Whitebeard's tent.

Everything, it seemed, had its own place within the tent. It was neat and orderly, and the only thing that was out of place was Tyran. His cold blue eyes, flicked to Armistice's, and he smoothed his long blonde hair, a smirk on his face as he paused from his conversation with Whitebeard.

Heart racing, Armistice walked over to where Whitebeard was sitting. Clenching her hands into fists, she forced her voice to remain still, and calm. 'Captain Whitebeard, I would like to have private council with you on a matter that I believe might interest you. It will only take a moment, and I can wait until Tyran finishes, but I need to talk to you.'

Whitebeard laughed. 'I think that I know what you are here to talk to me about. And I can assure you that my meeting with Tyran is over already, so please, talk. Tell me what you need to say, and I will act upon it the best way that I see fit.'

Nervously, Armistice cleared her throat. 'Well I know it is a lot to ask, but I was hoping for a private council.'

Tyran sneered at her from his place at Whitebeard's table, which was placed in the middle of the room. 'You can say what you need to in front of me. I am no longer a rookie on this ship, so I have full right to be treated as one of the members.'

Armistice flicked her gaze at Whitebeard, but nodded. 'I would like to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I am sincerely sorry if you were offended by my actions. After spending some time in the woods, and talking to Mihawk, I have decided that I would like to revise my initial rejection of your offer. I would like to accept the position as Navigator, and travel to the Grandline as part of your crew.'

Whitebeard grinned. 'So you and Hawkeyes have finally become friends? Good for you. Would I be right in thinking that he is the reason that you are here, and knew that we were packing up today to leave? He is a friend that will serve you well out at sea.'

Feeling light headed with happiness, Armistice smiled at Whitebeard. 'He is a good friend sir. And yes he is both the reason for me being here, and knowing that the crew was leaving today. Of course he didn't tell me the latter until this morning after I had woken up.'

'You cannot seriously be thinking of taking her on Captain!' Tyran said in shock, standing up from his seat. 'She has caused us nothing but trouble ever since she joined the crew, it's her fault that we lost our navigator in the first place.'

'It is not!' Armistice objected. 'Rori is in love with Cali. That is not the fault of anyone, you cannot chose who you will fall in love with, or when you will fall in love. It just happens, just like you breathing. You do in unconsciously. Without thinking about it.'

'You nearly got him killed! You forced the two of them into that cave by playing matchmaker, and then it collapsed.' Tyran ground out. 'If you had not have done that, then we would still have our navigator, and we would already be very close to the Grandline.'

Armistice gritted her teeth, and calmly took a seat at the large table, ignoring Tyran's blazing eyes. She brushed her crimson hair from her eyes before proceeding in a very quiet and patient voice. 'Tyran, I am offering to be your navigator. I will be able to take you to the Grandline just as fast as Rori. I have had years of training, ever since I was a little girl. My parents entered me into a course when I had just turned six, so I know what I am doing.'

Tyran slammed his hands palm down on the table and stared at Whitebeard. 'How can you accept her onto the ship so easily? She has changed her mind so many times that it is impossible to tell if what she is saying is actually the truth. How do you know that she is not going to change her mind once again, and then desert our crew at the last minute?'

Whitebeard rubbed his chin and turned to Armistice. 'You know he is right. How do I know that you will stay with us until we at least find another navigator? How can I be sure that I can trust you once we get near to the Grandline?'

Smoothing invisible wrinkles from her pants, Armistice forced herself to remain calm. 'I will sign a contract that says I am not aloud to leave the crew until another navigator is found. If I don't keep my oath then you can have someone hunt me down and, either drag me back to the ship, or kill me right then and there.'

Tyran scoffed. 'And Mihawk will probably be the one that is sent, and you will do everything that he asks, but he will help you escape. As soon as the two of you have a fight, then you will leave the ship, you depend on him, and ask too much of him so when he does not act the way you want, you are disappointed. I know that the two of you are sleeping together. I saw you get into the same bed last night when you finally returned. What will you do when he loses interest in your company?'

'For your information Tyran. Mihawk and I shared a bed last night, yes. But we were both fully clothed, and nothing else happened. Mihawk was simply looking out for me because I was scared, and didn't want to sleep alone.' Armistice raged. 'He was simply being a gentleman, so I will not object if he gets bored of me. Since there is nothing but a mutual friendship between us!'

'But only for so long.' Tyran spat. 'He is after all your only friend on the vessel. You do not make any attempts to talk to the other crew members. You obsess over Mihawk, and do not think of others. The only reason that you took any interest in Rori is because your little friend Cali wanted to meet him. If is wasn't for her, then you wouldn't have had two thoughts about him. That is the only reason you became his friend. So you could get something out of him. I do not think that the rest of the crew would be too happy about that!'

'The reason that Mihawk is my only friend aboard the ship is because of you. You have not liked me since the very first day we met because I pushed you into the water, and then you were scorned by Mihawk for falling prey to such a weak opponent. You have everyone else on the ship against me because I hurt your pride.'

'You think that you are better than me don't you?' Tyran asked, his voice full of venom. 'You think just because you pushed me off that dock, you will get away with anything. Now you are accusing me of hating you and turning the whole crew against you? I cannot control people, so maybe they just don't like you because you do not make an effort to make them like you. They have no reason to be your friend, because you do not talk to them.'

'You know very well that you influence the crew. They all go by your wishes, because you act like a hurt little school boy, whispering rumours to attack me behind my back.' Armistice yelled, finally losing control. 'Now you are jealous because you think that you might have had a shot at Navigator. Whitebeard said that I had until today to decide, now I have made a decision, and I will sign the contract!'

'Well then Lass, you better get signing.' Whitebeard stated, handing her a piece of paper. It had the deal that she had described, written in cursive and neat writing. 'I need a navigator and if this makes you feel better, then sign it.'

'Thank you!' Armistice signed, taking both the paper and the pen from Whitebeard.

'You are going to let her join, even though she has proved that she is not worthy of such a great crew?!' Tyran's eyes had become wide. 'Captain, she is not a very good person for the job. You really should reconsider your decision, before it costs the crew a life!'

'I know what I am getting myself into!' Whitebeard snapped. 'I have been a pirate for a long time, and I know that not everyone will be reliable. But I told the Lass that she had until today to make up her mind, and then it would be up to fate as to weather she works out or not. So do not tell me what I should and shouldn't do. I know full well the consequences of my choices, and it will do you good to remember that I am the Captain of this ship, and you are merely a deck hand!'

Tyran nodded his head, and sat back down at Whitebeard's table, sulking from the reprimand that he had received from his Captain. He glared at Armistice with hate, hiding his gaze from Whitebeard.

Joy enveloped Armistice's very being. She hugged Whitebeard. 'I will not let you down. I promise that you will not regret your choice. I will learn as I go, and I will get us through the Grandline. Thank you Captain!'

Whitebeard laughed. 'Just do not let it get to your head. If you do, Mihawk will not be very happy, and you will have to put up with his comments. And we both know what they are like when he is not feeling very happy. He knows exactly what buttons to push to hurt someone.'

'Yeah I know. I have witnessed his charm first hand on quite a few occasions, and I am not willing to put myself into that kind of a situation any time soon. It is not very pleasant!' Armistice smiled. 'But I think that I am able to gauge his moods a bit now. It seems that we are always placed in the same room, so I know his habits a lot better than when I first joined the crew.'

That's Go-' Whitebeard was cut off by Cali and Rori bursting into the tent.

'Whitebeard you have to take Armistice and leave now!' Cali screamed holding up a picture of Armistice with a bounty underneath it. 'She is worth Ten Million Beli. And the Marines want her dead! They are lined up at the town, and are quickly making their way over here!'

'They want me?!' Armistice gasped. 'But what have I done? There is no way that I am worth that much money! I didn't even do anything, I only beat up a couple of Marines, that is all. They even survived the fight. So shouldn't they be looking for someone stronger?'

'You get most of your bounty just for being spotted helping Whitebeard. They are too scared to come straight for him, so they are targeting the weaker members of his crew.' Cali grabbed Armistice by the shoulders. 'You have to join the crew! If you don't then you are in a lot of trouble, and so is this village. Please go with Whitebeard, at least with him, you will be able to have protection, he will not let anything happen to you!.'

Armistice laughed, and hugged her friend. 'That is the reason that I am here. I have taken the position as navigator. But I agree, we will have to get out of here before the Marines find this little village. There's no doubt that you and Rori will be in trouble if they find you here. If we can divert them from finding this village then you will be safe!'

'I'll give the command that we set off for the docks immediately then.' Whitebeard grinned before disappearing from the tent.

'Thanks Cali. And you too Rori. But now I have to go. I hope the two of you have a lovely wedding, and I hope that you are very happy together. I am truly sorry for nearly killing you both in the cave!'

'Don't worry about it.' Rori said, his grey eyes smiling, as he twined his arm around Cali's waist. 'We have already been married, so it will only be a very small ceremony. Now hurry up and get going. If you don't leave now then you never will!'

Armistice smiled before running from the tent, just in time to meet a rather grumpy Mihawk, who was trudging along towards the docks. 'Ready to go?'

Mihawk grinned, and unsheathed his sword slightly, his yellow eyes gleaming. 'But of course.'

Sighing, Armistice joined Mihawk in the line that had formed by Whitebeard's men, to look like a small type of army. She just hoped that they would not lose anyone from the crew. It would be such a devastating loss if they did. Even though Armistice did not have many friends aboard the crew.

Whitebeard's army marched fourth together out of the small village, leaving behind the cheers of the village people, and the giggles of the village children.

Armistice bit her lip. The poor children didn't even know what they were up against. They thought that the pirates were simply leaving the village, where in fact they were marching to fight for the very children that were so ignorant of the world around them. She could not understand how the Marines could disrupt such a serene atmosphere. They were more monstrous than what the pirates were, she felt certain of that.

'Are you alright?' Mihawk asked, walking beside her. 'You do not have to fight if you don't think that you can handle it. I will watch your back.'

Armistice sighed with relief, but shook her head. 'It gives me comfort to know that you will be there, but I think that I should be doing this as well. I got Cali and Rori here, even if it was unintentional, and now it is my fault that the Marines are attacking. I want to protect them, and this little village, and I cannot do that without fighting alongside the crew.'

'I thought that you might say that.' Mihawk said, he held out a long metal bo staff that was red in colour. 'That is why I got you this. I remember you saying that you could use a bo staff, and would like to learn how to fight better with it. Now is as good a time as any to practice a few techniques. I will of course watch what you are doing and help if you need me. So while we are fighting, make sure that you stay close to me so that I can keep an eye on what you.'

Fighting back the fear that threatened to consume her, Armistice nodded, and averted her eyes back towards the road. She could not believe that they were going to have to fight already. She had thought they would leave the island with no worries, and then start sailing towards the Grandline. But she had most obviously been wrong in that perspective. Now they were faced with a large horde of enemies, and she could not see how they were going to keep the Marines away from the small village.

'Armistice.' Mihawk took hold of her elbow, and half dragged her to the front of the line. 'You and I are to scout to the front and see where the Marines are. If they are not too far in, then we will be able to sneak around the side, and lure them out to sea. If they are close then we will have to fight them head on.'

Armistice stared at Mihawk mystified. 'How in the world did you know that we had to scout? I did not hear Whitebeard shout out any orders. But of course I could be deaf.'

'He sent me a message by bird.' Mihawk laughed at the stunned look on her face. 'Are you game?'

Armistice grinned in an attempt to hide her blood chilling fear. 'Of course I am. I'm ready to move when you are!'

Linking hands, the two of them used the cover of the trees to run ahead to where the Marines were. Mihawk spotted them first, and held a finger to his lips, indicating she be quiet, as the two of them backed slowly away without alerting the Marines.

'They are too close.' Armistice breathed as they ran back to Whitebeard to pass on the news. 'There is no way that we will be able to lure them out to sea!'

Mihawk did not answer, he just continued to run, until they met up with Whitebeard. Then he cleared his throat. 'We are going to have to meet them head on. They are only a few minutes away, and they are advancing on us, just as we are on them. Though we outnumber them, they will probably call for backup.'

'Well then men!' Whitebeard's voice boomed over the small crowd of pirates. 'It looks as though we are going to fight on land! Remember to keep your wits about you, and fight to the best of your ability!'

No one in the crowd cheered, and Armistice did not blame them. She could not suppress the foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach, that something bad was going to happen. So when the crew finally came to a halt, and the Marines walked over the small hill, their weapons at the ready, Armistice sent a prayer to whoever was watching, and gripped her bo staff, ready to take action as soon as the two rival teams clashed. Then she would be able to protect the people that truly mattered to her. This time she was not running away.


	7. Captured

Captured

A/N: Well this chapter has a lot going on. So I hope you enjoy it, and I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can.

I Do not own One Piece

* * *

The Marines surged forward like an angry mob, and collided head on with Whitebeard's crew. They were seriously outmatched, but that did not stop them. They had called for backups only moments before, and they had flaunted the fact in front of Whitebeard's crew. One of the Shichibukai were on their way.

'Mihawk, we have to get to the dock before the backup arrives. He will wipe out most of our crew. We are not ready to face such a large force!' Armistice called to her companion. 'There is no way we will last if he is indeed called. He will obliterate us!'

'Calm down!' Mihawk snapped, cutting through four Marines at a time. 'Focus on your primary task. Defeat the Marines and just keep surging forward! Do not let the threat of a Shichibukai scare you, and remember, we have Whitebeard on our side. He will be able to take out the Shichibukai in no time.'

Fear swept through Armistice like a tornado. Gritting her teeth she clutched her bo staff with rigid hands, and calculated her first opponents distance. 'I have faith in you Mihawk. But I pray to the lord that we will reach the docks before the Shichibukai has the chance to come.'

One of the Marines broke away from Mihawk and swung his blade high in the air. After mustering a whirlwind of force, he smashed his blade downwards towards Armistice's head, his blade cutting through the thin air surrounding her.

Armistice brought her staff upwards and blocked his attack. She ignored her wild red hair, which had blown into her face, before she swung her bo staff out from underneath the Marine's blade. As he stumbled off balance, she brought her weapon crashing down on his head, effectively knocking him to the ground in the process.

A couple of Marines nearby shouted out in horror for their fallen comrade. The three of them broke off from their battles to charge at her in unison. They brought their blades swinging through the air in perfect unison; aiming to kill, not to injure.

Surprised by their reaction, Armistice jumped back to dodge their blow, and noticed that they made every move at the same time. They never once differentiated their attacks from each other. Grinning, she took another step backwards. 'You guys rely on each other for your attacks. You should have developed a style that was unique, your teamwork would be much more effective.'

'Shut it, we work as a group. There is no one that can beat us when we work together.' The apparent leader of the group said, turning her nose up into the air before the group attacked Armistice again. This time however they took her advice, and each of the trio took a side, so that only her back was left unguarded by the two men and one woman.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Armistice cursed her momentary slip, and stupidity. She tried to jump back and dodge their attack once again, but they were too quick for her slow reaction, and so she was hit with the force of three blades in the back. Screaming in pain, her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground.

'See I told you that no one can defeat us while we are together.' The Marine woman poked her tongue out, and stood on Armistice's neck, cutting off her airways. 'Is there anything else you would like to say before you die a horribly slow and painful death, pirate?'

Armistice clutched at her bo staff tighter as the world around her started to go black from lack of oxygen. Closing her eyes, she blindly trusted her bo staff upwards, feeling a satisfying thump before the pressure to her neck was released. Not waiting for her captor to recover, she rolled over and jumped to her feet. While the trio were still off guard, she whacked them with her staff on the back of the legs, making them tumble to the blood soaked battlefield. She then hit them on the head to make sure they did not wake up any time soon.

From the left of Armisitce, one of the Marines let out a battle cry, and ran towards her. He was however cut off by one of Whitebeards crew, who was wielding a rather large hammer like weapon. He gave Armisitce the thumbs up and grinned.

Smiling, Armistice mouthed the words thank you, and then turned to find Mihawk. He was not at her side as he had promised, and when her eyes finally targetted his masculine form, she found that he was far away from her; beating up six Marines at a time with just one sword. Shaking her head, Armisitce did a head count of as many Marines as she could. To her surprise she found that they had multiplied in number; the reinforcements had finally come to help out their comrades.

Beside her, a gun was fired, and one of Whitebeard's crew members fell to the ground, crying out in agony. He clutched at his side, and curled himself into a tight ball on the ground. He did not move when his attacker walked over to stand above his shaking form. The Marine closed one of his eyes, and took aim.

Without thinking, Armisitce shot forward, and threw herself at the Marine. The two of them tumbled to the ground in a ball of flailing limbs, and uncomfortable screams. Once she was disentangled from her new opponent, she struck him with her bo staff; hard and low.

The Marine clutched at his groin, his eyes watering, and fell to his knees, wimpering unrecognisable words. He looked up at Armistice and cursed her beneath his breath, unable to do much more, since she had hit him with so much force.

Feeling sorry for the guy, and about her actions, Armistice decided to release him from his misery and hit him across the head so that he passed out. She walked over to the crew member that she had saved, and examined his wounds. He moaned in pain as she touched the skin that looked as though it had been scorched by a hot flame. His flesh was black and a smokey smell rose from the open wound. Holding her breath, Armistice ripped part of her shirt, and bandaged the wound as much as she could.

The pirate smiled up at her. 'You know, I never liked you until now. I thought that you were just like Tyran, he used to hang off Mihawk as well when he first came to the crew. But Mihawk never really took a shine to him. When you started following Mihawk around, I thought that you would be a jerk. But it seems that I was wrong. You have my appolgies.'

'That is okay.' Armistice responded. 'I have not been all that fair on the crew. I thought that you all followed Tyran, and that he had you all against me. It seems that I was wrong, and he actually was telling the truth when he said that he did not have the crew against me.'

'It seems that we have all made mistakes.' The pirate coughed and surged to his feet, clutching at his wound. 'I don't know what kind of amo they are using, but if I was you, I would watch out for it. The bullets sting like fire. They really hurt.'

Armistice nodded, and then turned to the ongoing battle, to find Mihawk. Upon seeing him, she ran over and helped him knock out another of his opponents. 'Mihawk. There are alot of Marines here, they are multiplying faster than we can take them down. The Shichibukai is sure to be here soon.'

'I know.' Mihawk looked as though he was going to say something more, but there was suddenly a hush throughout the battlefield, and his whole demenour became still and alert. A man wielding a large back sword strapped to his back became visible. The people around him fell back in silent awe, as the man pulled the sword from his back and faced Whitebeard's crew. 'Looks like he is here.'

Armistice stared in deference, but turning back to Mihawk, she realised that he was sweating slightly. A crazed look had come to his eye. He stood still. Not moving an inch. Then without another word he surged forward. 'Where are you going?'

Mihawk did not answer. Instead he positioned himself in front of the newly arrived swordsman Shichibukai. 'Cairn. I hear that you are the best in the world. That no one has been able to beat you. It is said that you hold the title of the ultimate swordsman with the true power.'

So this is the man that Mihawk has been looking for, Armistice thought watching the older man survey the young swordsman in front of him, He is a lot stronger than what I thought. I hope Mihawk knows what he is getting himself into.

Cairn smirked. 'Of course. I have been beaten by no man. I am the best, and I will be for a very long time. Brave men tremble in my presence. I am Cairn! The best in the world!'

Mihawk grinned. 'And that is why I am going to beat you. It is my dream to become the best, and the only way for me to do that is to defeat you in battle!'

Laughing Cairn pointed his sword at Mihawk. 'I admire your courage, but you are a fool to think that you can take me on and win. Though I will honour you with battle. You do not look like the kind of lad that will easily give up.'

Mihawk grinned, and ran at Cairn. Their swords clashed, stopping the whole battle, as Whitebeard's pirates, and the Marines alike, stood around drawn in by the blood thristy scene. Cairn blocked Mihawk's attack easily, and pushed him back with an effortless swing of his black sword.

Holding her breath, Armistice watched the battle with wide eyes, as Mihawk was again blocked. Cairn swung his blade once again, but this time he split Mihawk's chest wide open. Armistice screamed in horror. 'Mihawk!'

Climbing back to his feet, Mihawk readied his sword for his ultimate attack, and then ran at Cairn again. This time he did not survive the clash, and his sword was smashed into a million pieces. Cairn's black sword sliced him up, and Mihawk fell to the ground in deafeat. Finished with his battle, Cairn resheathed his sword, and then turned back towards the sea. 'I have enjoyed our battle Mihawk. Become strong so that I can fight you again on level terms.'

Armisitce screamed in shock and ran over to Mihawk. He was covered in blood, but he was awake and smiling. She helped him to sit up, and then got to work cleaning his wounds as best as she could. Pirates from Whitebeard's crew came rushing over, handing her bottles of medicated liquid to rub into the wounds to help them to close. At least until they saw the ships doctor.

'Next time, you will not be so lucky.' Mihawk said lowly, but Cairn heard because even though he was walking away, he lifted a fist into the air, and his shoulders moved in a silent chuckle. After he had dissapeared from the battelgrounds, Mihawk let his weight fall into Armistice's arms, and closed his eyes. He was exhausted from his recent battle.

Smiling in relief, Armistice handed Mihawk to a couple of male pirates, so that he could be carried to the back of Whitebeard's army of pirates, and then later, when the marines were defeated, to the ship. 'Sleep well my friend. you have acheieved quite a lot in this battle.'

As the overwhelming presence of Cairn faded, the opposing teams got their wits back. The Marines got to their feet and surged towards the pirates, who in turn got to their own feet, and ran towards the Marines, not scared of the head to head clash that was sure to ensue.

The pirate that Armisitce had saved only moments before Mihawk's battle with Cairn, walked up beside her. He shook his head at the approaching Marines, and shifted the weight of his weapon on his shoulder. 'This should be an interesting match up shouldn't it? With Cairn gone, the Marines don't stand a chance.'

Smiling slightly, Armistice turned to smile up at her companion, Jake. 'Of course, Whitebeard's crew outranks those stupid Marines anyday. We won't have much trouble getting to the ship now. And all as we have to do is lure them out to sea. Then they will be on our territory.'

'Aye.' Jake laughed. 'But do not count your victories too soon. We still have to get passed them before we can say that we are safe. Watch your back.'

Happiness surged through Armistice as she smiled and watched Jake leave to join the battle. Holding her breath, she ran to the back lines of Whitebeard's pirates, and located Mihawk. Taking a breath, she walked over to kneel beside him.

Mihawk opened bleary yellow eyes when he felt her presence. He grinned. 'You look as though you have seen a ghost. Now why are you here? I have trouble believeing that you are here to ask me to asist you in the battle. But if that is your wish, I will very quickly oblige.'

Armistice shook her head, and gripped Mihawk's strong warm hand. 'I am not here to ask you to asist in the battle Mihawk. Not in your present condition. I simply came to make sure that you were feeling alright, to make sure your wounds had not bled too much more.'

Mihawk cocked a brow at her. 'The doctor has been to see me. He stitched my wounds up. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think that I was going to have to wait until we got back onto the ship?'

Confronted with her fears, Armistice's face went red. She had not thought that he knew what she was thinking. She had forgotten that the doctor was with them on the battlefield. Carefully Armistice watched Mihawk from underneath her eyelashes. 'I was just worried.'

Mihawk rolled his eyes. 'Then don't be. Hurry up and get out there to the battle. Otherwise I will have to force myself to join in!'

Eyes wide, Armistice turned and fled from her friend back to where the fight was happening. She could not believe that, even with his injuries, he was eager to join in the fighting. He was half dead, and he acted as if he had just woken up a little later than usual. Clutching her bo staff to her chest, she willed herself to be strong. If not for anyone else; for Cali, Rori and Mihawk. They were the ones that she was there to keep safe, and this time she was not going to give up.

The battle was still raging two hours later when the sun shone high above the sky. Whitebeard's crew had steadily gained ground. The Mairines were becoming more weary of them, as they had discovered that if they got too close, the pirates would not care how they shot them down.

Armistice could not feel her fingers. They were numb against the wood of her staff, and fatigue seeped through every muscle. She had spent the better half of the battle, running back and fourth from the front lines to the back. She had been checking on a frustrated Mihawk, who was ready to fight, and get back to sea so that he could train for his goal. She had started to give up hope that they would ever reach their ship.

As the Marines slunk back, the main town of Tortic island came into view. The docks stood out like a sore thumb, and in the midst of them was Whitebeard's large ship. It had not even been touched by the Marines, and sat as if it was waiting for them to board it.

Lightheaded, Armistice laughed. She had thought that they would be fighting for a lot longer before they ever saw the docks again. She did not think that there would ever be a more welcome sight then the ship, standing in the dock.

Whitebeard's men gave a scream of triumph, and Mihawk made his appearance at the front lines, next to Armisitce. He grinned at her and unsheathed a sword that he seemed to have borrowed from one of the Marines. 'Are you ready to fight?'

'Mihawk, you should not be here! Your wounds will re-open!' Armistice hissed. 'We have not long to go, and you will not be able to survive through this encounter. Why can't you be patient?!'

'Shh relax. I know my limitations.' Mihawk grinned. His golden eyes flared, and he cut down a Marine that had charged straight for Armistice. 'You're not very popular are you? They're all going for you.'

Pouting, she play punched him on the shoulder. 'I have destroyed a lot of their men. I really like this bo staff that you got me. It is very good to use.'

'I am glad. Now lets get to the ship!' Mihawk said, stepping forward to take out three more marines. 'Follow me. If anything, you are the one who is too tired to do anymore fighting. I will back you up. Don't you worry about it.'

Sighing Armistice, stepped forward to stand beside Mihawk. She was determined to show him that she could fight and she was not ready to back down, no matter how tired she actually was. 'I am not going anywhere Mihawk. I said that I would fight to make sure that Cali and Rori were left in peace. And I am not going to give up until we are so far out to sea, that the Marines have forgotten all about this island, and our presence here!'

'Very good.' Mihawk laughed. 'It seems that you have finally grown a spine. It's funny what having a goal will do to you. But once we do save them, what are you going to fight for then?'

* * *

Armistice watched the ship grow ever closer. She held her breath, and hit yet another Marine over the head; knocking him unconcious. 'There are so many of them. But we are so close Mihawk!'

'Keep your cool. Do not try to rush towrds the ship. If we do, then we will leave ourselves open for mistakes. And that is something that we can not afford.' Mihawk gritted his teeth, and sliced another Marine with his sword. 'We need to get rid of these Marines.'

Armistice felt adrenaline run through her viens. She wiped off the sweat that had formed on her forehead, and gripped her bo staff tighter again. 'We are so close. I am not going to blow it, but I wonder how long it will take us to get to the ship. Surely the marines have figured out our motives by now. I mean they are dense, but not stupid.'

Mihawk laughed. 'You have no idea how right you really are. They have one of the best spy systems that will ever be found in this world. And besides that, they are rutheless. Just like pirates.'

'Just like pirates?' Armistice raised an eyebrow at her companion. 'I don't think that they have as much fun as what we do. They seem too serious to break out and have a little bit of a laugh and dance. Pirates are not afraid to let loose.'

Two marines chose that moment to surge forward, and engage in fighting with both Armistice and Mihawk. They both fought with swords. The man that had chosen to attack Armisitce stabbed towards her stomach with his sword.

Armistice barely blocked him with the horizontal length of her weapon. Gritting her teeth, she tried to move her staff, but found that she was stuck. Unable to attack with her arms, she brought her knee slamming into his stomach. Poking her tongue out at him, she rammed the point of her staff into his back when he bent from the impact to his stomach. Blood spattered over the legs of her jeans as it exploded from the Marine's mouth. Armistice looked at the forming stain in disgust.

'I am surprised that you have remained so clean during this fight. Usually rookies like yourself are covered in blood during the first five seconds of battle.' Mihawk cut of another Marine that lunged himself at Armistice. 'Take Tyran for instance. He is already soaked in blood. I just do not know if it is his opponent's or his own.'

Shuddering slightly, Armistice moved closer to Mihawk. She raised her arms, eventhough they felt like they were filled with lead, and brought her staff crashing down once again. Her actions had been repeated so much that day, she felt as though they were automatic. 'I did bleed. I have been hit a couple of times. I just do not want to have blood dripping all over me. It is distracting so I patched myself up a couple of times. It's no big deal. I don't have a big fat ego like Tyran.'

Suddenly, Mihawk became very alert. He grabbed Armistice by the wrist, and pulled her to his chest. As a gun shot rung throughout the field, he pulled her to the ground, his body covering her own. The speeding bullet passed over the top of them, and instead took out a dopey Marine, who had just pulled himself back to his feet.

Armistice's heart started to race from the contact with Miahwk. The slight weight of his body made her feel safe. She could feel the steady beat of his own heart. It made her relax, because he was not worried about the events going on around him. Quietly, she nudged him with her arm. 'We should probably get up, otherwise we will be easy pickings for the Marines.'

Mihawk grinned, and pulled her up to her feet. His arms let go of her waist, but he stood protectively in front of her; much like a body gaurd. 'This fight is almost over. Let's go back to the ship. We should start to get everything ready so that everything goes smoothly when we all board the ship.'

Regretful at the loss of contact with Mihawk, Armistice nodded her head. 'It would be a good idea. We want to get out of here as quickly as possible. And it looks as though we are not going to be able to do that very easily.'

'Watch your back. Once they find out what we are up to, the Marines are going to try to stop us with all the force that they can muster.' Mihawk took hold of her hand in his powerful grip. 'So that you do not lose sight of me, I will keep hold of you. We must stick together, as we are going into enemy lines.'

Armistice's heart fluttered from his touch, and a heat spread through her. She blushed lightly from the contact and his concern. 'I will make sure that I keep up. I will keep you in sight at all times. If I get stuck in enemy lines, then I am not going to be able to escape.'

'Exactly.' Mihawk murmured, leading her further towards the ship. They ducked and weaved through the fighting troops, passing seemingly unknown. Mihawk kept a firm grip on Armistice's hand the whole time. His unnerving eyes flicked around the battefield, ready to spot trouble before it even came.

Heart pumping painfully in her chest, Armistice did not even notice that they were being followed. She simply clutched at Mihawk's hand, and followed him blindly. Tapping Mihawk lightly on the shoulder, she whispered quietly. 'Do you think that we will have a run in with anyone?'

'Just promise me that you will keep quiet as we go in.' Mihawk said, his tone was almost sarcastic. 'They will target you, because you are the weakest person that is close to them. They want their job to be easy, and by getting you, they think that Whitebeard will back down and maybe surrender.'

Nervously, Armistice tightened her grip on his hand. Her stride widened a little to match his, and soon they were very close to the ship. 'Mihawk we are being followed.'

'We have been followed since just after we started towards the ship. Ignore them, and keep moving.' Mihawk commanded. He did not stop, but instead half-dragged her towards the ship. 'If we stop now then they will get suspicious and know that we are on to them. There is a chance that they will not even attack us.'

Fear played havoc with Armistice's nervous system, and she found herself shaking uncontrollably. The knuckles on the hand that held Mihawk's, were white. She clenched her teeth together in stress. Her every movement seemed to take a thousand years.

'Duck.' Mihawk pushed Armistice ruoghly to the ground as a steak of ice tore through the air towards them. Once it had passed he pulled her to her feet, and nudged her forward slightly. 'Get to the ship and start to get it ready. This marine is someone that you do not want to go up against. Stay away, and I will deal with him.'

Armistice nodded fervently, and started to run towards the ship. Stopping for a moment she turned to look back at the fight between Mihawk and the random Marine.

The Marine was only very young, but he was a clear match for Mihawk. He shot ice from his hands, but just when it looked as though he would engulf Mihawk, he missed. Mihawk was too fast for him, and attacked him with the sword that he had found. He never managed to hit the Marine either, as everytime he brought his sword downwards, it was blocked by a sheild of hard ice.

Armisitce watched the battle with her breath caught in the back of her throat. She had never before seen a fight between two men that were so closely matched. Shaking her head to clear her jumbled thoughts, she turned back towards the boat. Straightening her shoulders, she began a fast walk towards her destination.

A nearby Marine that had been watching the fight between his comrade and Mihawk, smiled. He had long black hair, and cunning black eyes. He followed Armistice for a while, and then once he was certain that she had not noticed his presence, he lunged forward. He hands locked around her body, one keeping her mouth shut so that it was impossible for her to call out to her crew mates.

Terror pumping adrenaline around her body, Armistice kicked backwards at the restraining body. He was too strong for her, and kept her body held firm. When she tried to scream and alert Mihawk, her captor cruelly sqeezed the hand that was over her mouth, pushing his nails into her cheeks.

'Stay still, and quiet, and no one will get hurt.' The Marines voice was rough, and very deep as he whispered into her ear. 'If you come with me, then your crew can go free. We will be able to get them later on, but right now it is better that you go to impel down. You stupid pirate.'

Armistice struggled against him in alarm. She tried to bite his hand, but she could not force her mouth to open. Despiration made the panic seem all the more real. She could see Mihawk still fighting, he was not all that far away.

'He will not be saving you now little miss.' The marine cackled. 'You will be coming with me, and he will not even notice that anything has happened until he arrives on the ship to find that you are not there. It's a good thing that we had a diversion set up isn't it? Otherwise we might not have gotten to you. Even wounded Mihawk is as vicious as a wild predetor.'

Guilt replaced her initial fear, and Armistice found herself becoming limp in her captors arms. She heard him chuckle, and she could see everything around her, but she could not move her body. She watched as Mihawk's intent figure became smaller and smaller as she was carried away. She could not call out to him, her mouth felt floppy, and her tongue felt furry. She coud not even twitch a finger.

Hearing a slight noise from the back of her throat, the Marine man laughed. 'Do not worry, we will be back at camp soon enough. Then we can take you back to the execution sites. Though you will be joined by a couple of your comrades. One captive just won't do the job. And if I was you, I would not waste my energy trying to move. You're paralysed, so it is not going to work.'

Armsitice felt the tears slide down her face, but she was powerless to stop them. When they reached the Marines camp site she was thrown roughly to the ground next to another man that was obviously paralysed. Her eyes met up with his, and then widened in recognition. They had Tyran.

Another Marine walked towards them, and threw another body into the fray. This one turned out to be the pirate that Armistice had saved earlier that morning, Jake. Quietly he reached out a hand and grabbed her on the wrist. His thumb stroked up and down her skin for a moment, before he pulled his hand back away to hold a finger to his lips; indicating silence.

Relief spread through Armistice, and the dread did not feel like it was a dominant factor in her life at that moment. She gave up trying to move, and let her body relax for a moment. Her eyelids dropped closed, and she fell into a very short and very fitful sleep.


End file.
